California’s colossal congressional delegation is pressing Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress for wildfire recovery aid.
In a letter signed by all 54 of the Golden State’s members in the U.S. House and Senate, they called for more federal aid to help in the recovery effort in Los Angeles County, where wildfires this year ravaged homes and businesses and led to dozens of deaths.
The lawmakers noted that reconstruction is underway, including the removal of household materials destroyed by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
“However,” they wrote, “the road to full recovery is long, and while the response from the federal government has been incredibly helpful to date, additional funding and resources will be needed.”
Their letter did not mention California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for $40 billion in disaster aid from Congress. That came last month and would divide the money into several pots, including $16.8 billion in public assistance funding, $9.9 billion for house and business repairs, $9.61 billion in business loans and grants and $2 billion in low-income housing tax credits.
Nor does the delegation’s letter mention the previous proposals of conditioning wildfire aid, which Democratic lawmakers have rebuked.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, has said more guardrails should be attached to disaster aid after passing a $100 billion aid package late last year.
Republicans argued that the largely Democratic state shouldn’t get a blank check for aid and suggested changes to water and forest management could all be on the table as conditions to funding.
Ric Grenell, President Trump’s envoy for special missions and a California resident, told Politico last month that he was all for attaching strings to disaster aid.
Still, the California lawmakers argued that “just as the federal government has come to the aid of communities impacted by wildfires across the western United States, tornadoes in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas or hurricanes in the Southeast, we should once again support the recovery of the impacted families, businesses and communities in Los Angeles County.
“Therefore, we urge you to ensure Los Angeles County has the resources it needs to recover and rebuild in an upcoming disaster relief bill.”
