AUSTIN -- For the fourth time since Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday extended the a disaster declaration for 60 Texas counties that were hard hit by the worst single storm event in state history.
Abbott said all Texas counties that were declared disaster areas will continue to be eligible for assistance as they recover and rebuild after the storm.
Abbott's move came as Republican lawmakers were hammering out a deal to avert a weekend government shutdown, putting off for another month a contentious debate on immigration and also setting aside a long-sought disaster aid package for the victims of Harvey and other natural disasters in other states.
As Texas officials feared, an $81 billion storm relief bill passed by the House in December continues to languish amid congressional brinkmanship over a wider budget agreement, with Republicans insisting on funding President Donald Trump's border wall and Democrats holding out for a deal to protect young immigrants from deportation.
With time running out on a midnight Friday deadline to keep the lights on in Washington – the third since last September – GOP leaders unveiled a plan Tuesday night to pass another stop-gap funding measure until February 16.
"While it has been months since Harvey hit Texas, the catastrophic damage left by the storm continues to affect communities across the state,"Abbott said in a statement. "As long as Texas families are fighting to recover, they can rest assured that the State of Texas is fighting with them."
State disaster declarations must be renewed every 30 days for assistance to remain available.
Counties currently declared disaster areas include Angelina, Aransas, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bexar, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Caidwell, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Colorado, Comal, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kerr, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Live Oak, Madison, Matagorda, Milam, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Patricio, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Washington, Wharton , Willacy and Wilson.
Chronicle Washington Correspondent Kevin Diaz contributed to this story.