Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) didn’t cast a vote on the $9.7 billion relief package for victims of Hurricane Sandy on Friday, but a spokesman said the Alabama lawmaker would have.
Mike Lewis, communications director for Bonner, said the congressman was back in his Gulf Coast district tending to a personal matter.
“He did receive assurances from the leadership ahead of time that it had enough votes to pass,” Lewis told TPM.
Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS), who also represents the Gulf Coast region, voted against the aid. Palazzo’s Mississippi district suffered considerable damage in 2005 from Hurricane Katrina.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the relief package on Friday, with all 67 “no” votes coming from Republican members
