Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has joined some of his fellow GOP lawmakers in calling for conditions on California wildfire aid.
NPR’s Steve Inskeep asked Johnson on Wednesday’s “Morning Edition” about if he believes “that it is Congress’s place to instruct” California “as to what to do on a state and local level, with, with — with forest management, with building codes, with whatever it might be.”
“If they’re asking for American taxpayer dollars to fund their mismanagement, absolutely,” Johnson responded.
The recent deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area have devastated the region, destroying property on a large scale and resulting in numerous deaths.
Johnson’s comments follow other GOP lawmakers’ comments about calling for conditions on California wildfire aid. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said to reporters Monday that he believes “there should probably be conditions on that aid.”
“That’s my personal view, we’ll see what the consensus is,” he added. “I haven’t had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend because we’ve all been very busy, but it’ll be part of the discussion, for sure.”
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) predicted Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” “that there will be strings attached to money that is ultimately approved” for Los Angeles-area fire aid.
In his NPR appearance, Ron Johnson said he believes that “what has happened over the decades here, with federal disaster relief, is that more and more and more individuals, more and more states, are just relying on the federal government when something happens.”
The Hill has reached out to the California governor’s office for comment.
