The Hill News

House lawmakers on Thursday formed a bipartisan working group designed to facilitate aid to regions devastated by Hurricane Irene.

Spearheaded by Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), the Hurricane Irene Coalition aims to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has enough funding to help states and local governments recovery fully from the disaster. The group will also counsel other lawmakers on how to get aid to their affected districts. 

“Hurricane Irene was an act of God," Welch said Thursday in a statement. "It will take an act of Congress to ensure that families and businesses slammed by this powerful storm get back on their feet."

Members of the group met Thursday morning with top FEMA officials â€" including Administrator Craig Fugate and Deputy Administrator Richard Serino â€" who briefed the lawmakers on the agency's recovery efforts. 

FEMA is still assessing the damage from the storm, but private insurers have estimated ! the costs could exceed $10 billion.

Traditionally, Congress has responded to such disasters with emergency funding borrowed from elsewhere. This time around, however, the funding issue grew much more contentious after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) pronounced last week that the aid should be offset by spending cuts to other programs.

Cantor â€" whose district was hit by Irene and a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in the same week â€" has since softened that position, vowing that the funding "will be there” and won't be held up by partisan gamesmanship.

Cantor and Welch spoke on the House floor Wednesday, and a representative from Cantor's office joined the coalition's meeting with FEMA officials Thursday morning. Cantor on Thursday said he welcomes the creation of the Irene coalition.

There are seven co-chairmen leading the group, including Reps. Welch, Chris Gibson (R-N.Y), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C! .), Tom Marino (R-Penn.), Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and Walter Jo! nes (R-N .C.).

Pascrell on Thursday said deficit-reduction is an important goal, but not as vital as bringing relief to victims of the storm.

"We all recognize that that nation needs to get its fiscal house in order," Pascrell said in a statement. "But that won't be accomplished by forcing the federal government to turn its back on entire cities that have been flooded because Congress didn't provide the funding." 

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that the upper chamber will take up a $6 billion FEMA funding bill next week.