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 112th 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.