Senate debates $60.4 billion Sandy aid package

Democrats are trying to push a $60.4 billion emergency spending package for Superstorm Sandy victims through Congress by Christmas. Republicans are responding: Not so fast.The Senate opened debate on the aid measure Monday, seven weeks after the storm swept up the East Coast, causing extensive damage in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Several Republicans say they’re sympathetic to Sandy victims, but they favor a smaller aid package for the moment and suggest cutting other federal programs to pay for parts of it. They say some measures in the bill — including money for salmon fisheries in Alaska, new government care and an Amtrak expansion project — smack more of congressional pork than disaster aid.