Obama to request over $60 billion for Sandy repairs

US administration to ask Congress to approve funding for East Coast states as lawmakers feel pressure to reduce federal deficit.

By REUTERS
Homes destroyed by Sandy on New Jersey shore 370 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Handout)
Homes destroyed by Sandy on New Jersey shore 370 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Handout)
US President Barack Obama's administration will ask lawmakers to approve more than $60 billion in funding for East Coast states to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy.
Officials from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which were hit hard by the storm, had asked for much more, saying they needed at least $82 billion altogether to make emergency repairs and upgrade infrastructure to prevent similar damage from future storms.
"The request is crafted to afford maximum flexibility to state governments and we will continue to work with the administration and Congress as our needs arise," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said in a joint statement.
Congressional aids pegged the figure at $60.4 billion.
Lawmakers are under pressure to cut spending and raise revenue as they try to reduce the federal deficit.
At the same time, state and city budgets are still thin as they try to recover from years of lost property tax revenue and ballooning pension and other costs.
"We need a full recovery package to be voted on in this session of Congress," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement. "Any delay will impede our recovery."