WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump reached an agreement with congressional Democrats on Wednesday that will avoid a damaging government default and provide funding for Hurricane Harvey aid. Republicans had been reluctant to tie the hurricane aid to the debt ceiling and had hoped to approve a longer term extension of the debt ceiling. The conservative party has in recent years been reluctant to approve debt ceiling increases without offsetting budget cuts. The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved an initial 7.85 billion dollars in aid to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. US authorities are now preparing for a second major storm, Hurricane Irma, which is on track to hit Florida as early as Sunday.

Source: The China Post September 07, 2017 07:18 UTC