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Article snippet: The White House on Friday requested an initial $7.85 billion in emergency relief funding from Congress followed by a request for another $6.7 billion as the Trump administration races to respond to the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey. The request was more than previously anticipated. The Hill reported earlier Friday that the president was expected to ask for $5.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund and another $450 billion for a Small Business Administration (SBA) program. According to a letter to Speaker MORE is requesting $7.4 billion for the relief fund, though the administration is seeking the expected $450 billion for the SBA. The letter asks that an additional $6.7 billion be made available in a stopgap spending measure that Congress must pass by the end of September to keep the government running. In all, the White House is asking for more than $14 billion as a down payment for recovery efforts in the Gulf. The money requested by the White House on Friday marks only a fraction of what relief efforts in Texas and Louisiana will eventually cost. Congress is already facing a jam-packed legislative agenda this month. Lawmakers are under pressure to raise the debt ceiling by Sept. 29 and must also strike a spending deal to fund the government past the end of the month. Trump is set to visit Texas for the second time in less than a week on Saturday to survey the damage from the storm, which left at least 46 peo... Link to the full article to read more