Friday's vote was the first of two anticipated votes, with a much larger appropriation of $51 billion coming up for consideration Jan. 15.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who blasted the leaders of his own party in the House when they failed to vote on an aid bill earlier this week, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, issued a joint plea for Congress to pass both parts of the aid package.

"While we are pleased with this progress, today was just a down payment and it is now time to go even further and pass the final and more complete, clean disaster aid bill," the governors said in their statement. "We are trusting Congress to act accordingly on January 15th and pass the final $51 billion instrumental for long-term rebuilding in order for New Jersey, New York and our people to recover after the severe devastation of Hurricane Sandy."

Barbara Kirchoff, of Keansburg, N.J., said that her parents' home was devastated by the storm, and that politicians in Washington don't seem to care.

"My parents have nothing," she said. "They need this money. A good portion of my town is a ghost town. They need help, now."

Nigel Jawad, who works at the Amazing Deli in the Ocean Breeze section of New York City's Staten Island, said most customers complain about a lack of financial assistance.

"Everybody keeps saying, 'Where is the money?' That's all I hear from people," he said. "People have no confidence in the government anymore."

The storm scoured parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and caused more than $60 billion in damage.

House Speaker John Boehner had delayed a vote on the aid package earlier this week but under pressure, scheduled a vote on the flood insurance portion to Friday. Without the money, the flood program could have run out of money next week.