An amendment to a disaster relief bill authored by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., that would have allocated funds toward aiding recovery from last month’s Lee County tornadoes did not survive a procedural vote on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Lee County Emergency Management Agency renewed calls for volunteers in Beauregard and Smiths Station.

Shelby argued his amendment should have been passed because the senator’s measure, unlike the one passed by the Democratic-led House, provided funding for disasters that occurred this year and is the only legislation that could gain President Trump’s signature. The senator’s bill provides $13.45 billion in disaster relief overall while the House bill allocates $14.2 billion.

“I hope we will all join together to provide assistance to those who urgently need it today, regardless of whether the state we represent has been struck by disasters covered in this bill,” Shelby said Monday on the Senate floor before the vote. “Only one of the two options before the Senate seeks to help everyone impacted by disasters and can be signed into law – and that’s the Shelby amendment.”

But the measure fell 16 votes shy of the 60-vote threshold to move on to a floor vote; it failed by a vote of 44-49. The House version also failed a procedural in the Senate by a vote of 46-49.

The failed votes came the same day the Lee County EMA renewed calls for volunteers and made appeals for donations in tornado-ravaged areas: