The Senate had approved a bill in late December providing the $60.4 billion. But House Republican leaders put off a vote on the measure in the waning hours of the 112^th Congress on Jan. 1.

That sparked outrage among members of the New Jersey and New York House delegations, who said they had been promised a vote on Jan. 1. It also made fresh legislation necessary in the new Congress that convened soon after the New Year started.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) stemmed some of the anger by pledging a Jan. 4 vote on an initial post-Sandy installment of $9.7 billion for the federal flood insurance program. The House and Senate did approve a bill providing that amount and it was enacted on Jan. 6.

Boehner also said he would schedule a Jan. 15 vote on a bigger Sandy measure.

Before approving the package, the House rejected a proposal from Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) to offset the $17 billion in near-term funding by paring discretionary 2013 appropriations by about 1.6%.

But the chamber did scale back the legislation somewhat, approving two amendments that cut a total of about $160 million from the measure’s longer-term portion, which initially had totaled $33.6 billion.

Story updated on Jan. 16 to correct funding figures for Federal Transit Administration and Corps of Engineers.