California’s congressional delegation urged Congress to approve federal funding to support recovery efforts after the Los Angeles County wildfires devastated communities across the Southern portion of the state.
“The severity of these wildfires requires additional coordination and a wider range of long-term federal recovery programs,” the bi-partisan group of 47 lawmakers wrote in a Friday letter to the four congressional leaders: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
“Therefore, we urge you to expeditiously approve California’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration and to provide all categories of public assistance, individual assistance, and direct federal assistance set forth in the Governor’s request,” they added.
Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) led the effort alongside Reps. Ken Calvert (R-Calif) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the respective chairs of the Republican and Democratic Congressional Delegations.
The California delegation said 40,000 acres were burned while 16,000 structures were destroyed, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. Property damage and capital losses could total up to $164 billion according to local research.
Newsom sent a letter to Congress in January requesting $40 billion in aid from a number of federal departments to spur redevelopment while noting the investments made to rebuild local communities.
President Trump has long blamed the state’s Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for not adequately preparing for wildfires, and administration officials have stated any form of additional federal aid will come with “strings.”
“The federal response is mostly money and so we are going to have strings on the money that we give to California,” Richard Grenell, Trump’s envoy for special missions, said during an interview with Politico last month.
Congress members were notably divided over how much to contribute to reconstruction efforts in January as legislators prepared for future discussions on the topic.
The California delegation has urged lawmakers to include relief funding for Los Angeles County in its upcoming disaster relief bill.
“Just as the federal government has come to the aid of communities impacted by wildfires across the western United States, tornados 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,” the lawmakers wrote Friday.
