California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has requested that Congress appropriate nearly $40 billion to support communities affected by the wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles region last month.
Recognizing that “the total impact on California’s economy will take years to fully quantify,” the governor asked for about $39.68 billion, in a letter sent late Friday to congressional leadership and to the chairs of each chamber’s appropriations committee.
Noting that “hurricane-force wind drive fires” destroyed 16,251 structures as more than 16,000 personnel battled the blazes, Newsom said that the requested funds would bolster “the immediate and long-term recovery work needed to rebuild lives and properties from this catastrophic event.”
“As the state continues to evaluate and assess the damage while conductive active response and recovery efforts, we expect to identify additional funding needs to help these communities recover,” the governor wrote in the letter, obtained by The Hill on Monday.
The governor’s request, which was first reported by The Washington Post, occurred amid an ongoing debate as to whether the Golden State should receive aid without meeting certain conditions.
Even as the fires were still raging and before President Trump took office, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and many other Republicans backed calls for placing stipulations on such funding.
A comprehensive breakdown of the funding request attached to the governor’s letter explained that $5.29 billion would help provide low-interest loans to businesses, non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters.
Another $4.32 billion would go toward business grants, which would both help boost recovery and prevent economic hardship that could stem from future such wildfire events. In addition, $2 billion would be allocated for low-income housing tax credits, per the letter.
The request states that about $16.8 billion would provide public assistance for community and private property recovery, such as hazardous household materials and debris removal, road and bridge repairs, public utility works and school district needs.
Meanwhile, some $9.9 billion would help address the considerable damage to housing and infrastructure, including via the distribution of federal block grants appropriated for community disaster recovery, according to the letter.
Other requests within the total $40 billion included $36.3 million for low-income home energy assistance; $12.9 million for grants supporting job placement, medical and transportation services; $1 million for child welfare grants; $1.5 million for social services grants; $432.3 million for water infrastructure; $5 million to clean up brownfields; $2 million to improve and monitor air quality; and $101 million to repair transportation networks.
Another $51 million would help fulfill the short-term needs of displaced workers; $375.8 million would help address fire-survivor health; $350 million would allow the U.S. Forest Service to implement wildfire defense mitigations; and $2 million would go toward mapping and monitoring landslide hazards, per the letter.
Concluding his letter with an emphasis on state-federal collaboration, Newsom stressed the need “to help repair, restore and rebuild these Los Angeles communities, and its infrastructure and economy.”
