President Bush has signed legislation to provide $51.8 billion in additional funding for Hurricane Katrina relief.
An overturned car lies in a pile of rumble off of Rodenberg Ave. in Biloxi, Mississippi.
The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 97-0 after receiving it from the House of Representatives, which also passed it overwhelmingly yesterday.
"The people affected by this storm have immediate needs that we must continue to meet without delay," Mr Bush said in a statement. "More resources will be needed as we work to help people get back on their feet."
It was the second time in a week that Congress has rushed through emergency funding for the victims of the hurricane that hit Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida at the end of August.
Congress has now approved $62.3 billion sought by Mr Bush, who has warned that further requests will come. Some legislators have estimated a final price tag of $150 billion to $200 billion.
Republican Henry Waxman of California, the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, and three senior senators from both major political parties cautioned that a provision in the legislation could open the door to fraudulent spending of emergency aid.
The provision would allow federal workers with government-issued credit cards to buy up to $250,000 in goods or services in a single purchase, up from a $15,000 limit.
A government watchdog agency has found purchases of personal items such as jewelry, stereo equipment and home supplies charged to such credit cards in the past, the legislators said.