WASHINGTON – The House approved $6.1 billion in tax breaks yesterday to help families recover from Hurricane Katrina and to encourage Gulf Coast businesses to reopen their doors, or at least keep employees on the payroll.

The House passed the bill 422-0 as the Bush administration urged residents to get out of the way of another approaching storm, Hurricane Rita, threatening Louisiana and Texas.

The vote sent the bill to the Senate, where lawmakers hoped for quick final approval.

“This aid comes at exactly the right time to help victims of Hurricane Katrina as they rebuild their lives,” said Treasury Secretary Snow.

Rep. Jim McCrery, a Republican of Louisiana, said tax writers aimed most of their assistance at individuals and donors. The tax breaks for businesses mean “those businesses, we hope, will be employing and paying residents of the affected area,” he said.

Lawmakers intend to follow the immediate aid with a broader package of tax breaks to encourage rebuilding, particularly in New Orleans. President Bush proposed creating a Gulf Opportunity Zone with about $2 billion in special tax breaks encouraging businesses to build or expand in the region.

Congress first responded to the hurricane’s devastating blow by approving more than $62 billion for recovery and rescue. The price tag, expected to increase, has caused wrangling within the GOP over whether to cut government spending elsewhere to defray Katrina’s costs.

Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican of Illinois, rejected calls to delay a Medicare prescription drug benefit or rescind recently passed “pork barrel” highway projects, but a band of almost two dozen conservatives announced proposals to take both steps.