Story highlights The White House sent Congress a request for $7.85 billion on Friday

It's described as a "down payment" on federal aid

Washington (CNN) The Trump administration on Friday asked Congress for a higher-than-expected $7.85 billion as part of an initial request for funds in response to Hurricane Harvey, with an additional request expected by the end of this month.

The formal request came late Friday in a letter from President Donald Trump's budget chief to House Speaker Paul Ryan. The initial amount requested for Harvey relief was higher than the $5.95 billion figure administration officials floated earlier in the day.

The bulk of the initial request will go to FEMA, which is rapidly burning through cash as the primary agency handling disaster relief. The remainder of the emergency funding request, about $450 million, will go to the Small Business Administration, which is doling out disaster recovery loans to homes and businesses damaged by the storm.

A vote on the emergency supplemental disaster request has been scheduled for late next week in the House.

The White House also signaled that it plans to request an additional $6.7 billion to replenish the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund as part of an anticipated stopgap spending measure to fund the government before it runs out of money at the end of September.

Read More