The US Senate passed legislation Monday authorizing more than 50 billion dollars in aid to victims of superstorm Sandy, which devastated New York and New Jersey in late October, dpa reported.
The upper chamber of Congress approved the money for both short- and long-term recovery efforts by a vote of 62-36.
The Senate passage sends the measure to President Barack Obama, who has said he would sign it into law. The measure passed the House of Representatives last week in a 241-180 vote.
Some Republicans opposed parts of the measure, pointing to money for projects not directly related to the storm and to the large size of the bill at a time when Congress is engaged in talks on austerity measures.
A smaller 9.7-billion-dollar initial disaster relief bill passed in early January, but the conservative Republican House leadership was sharply criticized for not taking quicker action on the larger aid package.
The storm battered the US East Coast days before the presidential election and left more than 100 people dead, destroyed thousands of homes and left millions of people without power for several days. Entire neighbourhoods remain uninhabitable.