They argued among themselves on the floor. Some of them shouted at each other. It wasn't easy, but ultimately, the Republican-led House passed a $50 billion Superstorm Sandy bill -- a triumph for thousands of Northeast residents awaiting aid.

The focus now shifts to the Senate, where the Democrats in control of that chamber indicated they would take up the House measure as early as next week, marking the first major legislative fight for the new Congress.

The House passed the amended bill, 241-180, after rejecting several attempts to cut down funding levels. To advance the bill, old-guard moderates from both parties were joined by liberal Democrats to overcome the opposition of Republican members fixated on alleviating the federal debt.

For these Republicans, the Sandy package epitomized wasteful congressional spending. Their Northeastern colleagues, especially Garden State lawmakers, did not see it that way.

"Many of them supported disaster aid for their areas. Some of them got disaster aid personally," said New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell. "We stood on this floor after [Hurricane] Katrina and voice-voted billions of dollars. ... I think that the record is very clear on what is needed."

New Jersey Democrats Robert Andrews and Frank Pallone said they could not understand the opposition, especially given the times their state helped pay for recovery efforts in Florida and Louisiana. Republican Frank LoBiondo shouted he was "angry" that colleagues questioned the need for the emergency funds. Jon Runyan, another Republican, stressed that his shore town of Seaside Heights is without its popular boardwalk.

For this delegation, it took the prestige of Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen, a powerful appropriator and member of one of New Jersey's most powerful families, to rally bipartisan backing for a $33 billion component to the bill.

As a way to appease the more fiscally conservative flank in the GOP, House leaders split the Sandy package into a $17 billion measure, offered by Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), which was easily approved (327-91), and Frelinghuysen's amendment, which was adopted 228-192, with the help of 38 Republicans.

Republican Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina led the effort to require that Rogers' $17 billion be paid for with money from other agencies, an idea opposed by the White House, Rogers and 257 other members -- enough to defeat Mulvaney's amendment.

Mulvaney argued that before colleagues rush to rescue New Jersey, New York and Connecticut from the financial and structural blow the superstorm caused last fall, Congress needed to figure out ways to pay for the aid.

"We've continued to mismanage our money and to run up our deficit to such a point that's $16 trillion, and it is incumbent upon us to have the discussion about whether or not we have the money to do this," Mulvaney said.

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), of the Mulvaney mindset, added, "There's so many places we can cut, but we just don't seem to have the courage as a body to do that."

These calls for fiscal soundness are not over. GOP hard-liners in the Senate could still attempt to block the measure or force reductions to the top line.

Yesterday's floor debate

Before yesterday's votes, government watchdog groups criticized the measure, arguing that certain provisions wasted taxpayer money and did not address any sort of emergency. Conservancy and infrastructure advocates, on the other hand, praised the bill's emphasis on mitigation projects.

"Strengthening the weakness in our infrastructure in a way that both addresses the reality of climate change and puts people to work must be our next priority," said Utility Workers Union of America President Mike Langford.

Proponents of the Sandy bill say the funds will pay for the boardwalks destroyed in New Jersey, the redevelopment of devastated neighborhoods in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, damages to New York City's subway system, upgrades to the electrical grid and the transportation systems in the Northeast, and new coastal infrastructure able to withstand a punishing weather event like Sandy.

Overall, the House bill would provide $3.9 billion for the Housing and Urban Development community development program, $1.4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers and $287 million to rebuild parks, federal lands and buildings. It also would provide $5.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund and another $5.4 billion to restore the transportation modes in the tri-state area of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. EPA would receive $608 million, and the Federal Highway Administration would get $2 billion.

Before final passage, members adopted a Rob Bishop (R-Utah) amendment, 223-198, to prohibit the Interior and Agriculture departments from buying federal land with Sandy relief aid.

"If you want to spend the money to fix the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, do it. ... But we don't have the luxury of spending emergency money on land acquisition. It's just dumb," Bishop said.

This week, the National Parks Conservation Association said Bishop's amendment could block the ability to acquire strategic parcels that would protect parks against future storms.

And by a vote of 221-197, the House adopted an amendment by Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) that would cut $150 million for Regional Ocean Partnership grants to coastal states hit by Sandy.

The Ocean Conservancy, an advocacy group, was not pleased with the action on the Flores proposal.

"We are disappointed to see the House eliminate an important tool that coastal states and regions can use," said Emily Woglom, a spokeswoman for the group. "The Senate should pass a package that allows states and communities to use all the tool(s) available -- like the partnerships -- to ensure they rebuild better and smarter."

Talk about whether humans contribute to the changes in the Earth's climate never materialized yesterday. Aside from three minor mentions, proponents kept quiet.

"Others have talked about how do you mitigate for such a thing; how do you address issues that relate to climate change," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "Save that conversation for another day."

Reporters Allison Winter, Phil Taylor, Annie Snider and Nick Juliano contributed.