WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated Tuesday that Congress is likely to provide billions of dollars in disaster aid to help California recover from devastating wildfires. However, he hinted that he might establish a new precedent by imposing conditions on that emergency funding based on political and policy disagreements with the city of Los Angeles and the Democratic-led state.
Nobody wants to, in a sense, leave any American in need hanging. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said. However, we also acknowledge that we must balance these requirements with the $36 trillion federal debt. It has to do with priorities.
Since hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and wildfires impact vast regions of the nation that are represented by members from both political parties, federal natural disaster assistance has typically been provided without restrictions.
Johnson admitted Louisiana has received substantial federal disaster help without conditions, but he said things must change. He said he had watched heartbreaking pictures of the flames in and around Los Angeles.
According to Johnson, the impacted Americans there are in dire need of assistance and deserve it. However, you have also heard us express our displeasure with California’s governance. Furthermore, we believe that the amount of complicity in the disaster’s breadth should be properly considered.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have been the target of several attacks from Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, about their handling of water resources, fire department finances, and forest management.
Fact checks by the Los Angeles Times, CalMatters, PBS News, and a number of other organizations have shown that some of the statements made by Republican lawmakers aren’t always true.
The nonprofit news group CalMatters has provided an explanation for the lengthening and increased difficulty of the wildfire season. Additionally, the Santa Ana winds and their effects on Southern California have been covered by the Los Angeles Times on numerous occasions.
Johnson’s addition of terms or limitations to federal disaster assistance would create a new standard that Democrats may follow going forward when delivering disaster assistance to regions of the nation that are governed by Republicans.
Democrats might claim, for instance, that a state led by Republicans did not invest enough in addressing climate change, which makes natural disasters more frequent and powerful.
Democrats can also use Johnson’s decision to limit disaster funding to California as justification to mandate that GOP-controlled states, including Louisiana, adopt new building codes for residences or commercial buildings in flood-prone or hurricane-prone areas.
While laying the foundation for a possible change in how lawmakers assist state and local governments in recovering from natural disasters for decades to come, Johnson stated during the press conference that Congress will eventually follow the Trump administration’s lead on a disaster aid package.
Johnson stated, “We will take the administration’s lead on this.” However, I will state that we must ensure that the American people’s priceless asset is protected. Naturally, there are natural disasters. However, I believe that they should be carefully considered if they are made significantly worse by human error and intentional policy decisions that were foolish and were declared as so at the time.
Republicans will require Democratic support for the legislation unless they include a disaster aid bill in their reconciliation package, which is doubtful.
Democratic leaders would then have the chance to block Johnson’s attempts to impose restrictions on disaster aid or pursue other compromises.
Both the House and the Senate are controlled by Republicans, but their majorities are very tiny, and many GOP members oppose significant spending proposals.
In order to move proposals closer to final passage, the Senate’s legislative filibuster also requires at least 60 votes, which is more than the 53 Republican senators in that chamber.
During his press conference, Johnson pointed out that before the incoming Trump administration can ask Congress for further funding, it will need time to fully evaluate the damage caused by the wildfires.
After that, the House will examine the proposal and start drafting a bill, he said.
In December, Congress passed an emergency disaster aid bill worth around $100 billion to support several federal organizations that assist Americans in recovering from natural catastrophes.
This came after the Biden administration requested that lawmakers approve roughly the same amount of emergency spending, which included $24 billion for the Department of Agriculture, $8 billion for the Department of Transportation to repair roads and bridges, $40 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, and $2 billion for the Small Business Administration to provide low-interest disaster loans.
This request addressed severe storms in Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; the continued federal response to Maui wildfires; tornadoes across the Midwest; and the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
Following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which devastated Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, it also followed closely behind.
FEMA, the Small Business Administration, and others have enough aid to start assisting Southern California recover from the fires, as well as supporting folks across the rest of the nation, Johnson said, thanks to that package.
