If forest fires rage in California, Washington Republicans have begun debating whether federal aid should be conditional on changes in policies they blame for the fires.
“It’s part of the discussion right now,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. “People aren’t willing to just write a check for something that, frankly, they still have a lot of questions about. And of course the fires are still burning, so we don’t even know what the final total will be. of the day.”
The Los Angeles area has experienced multiple deadly wildfires in recent days, with nearly 100,000 Californians under evacuation orders.
Officials are far from knowing what the final damage estimates will be, nor how much additional funding will need to be approved by Congress.
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Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans discuss whether to provide relief for California’s wildfires. (Getty Images)
But a broad cross-section of Republicans already are blaming the policies of the Democratic stronghold state and management to make the problem worse.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of questions asked about it, but we also want to work with, you know, everyone on both sides of the aisle,” said House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., when asked about conditioning aid . ‘But I think that’s just the reality. There will be some questions we will ask.”
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s housing and insurance subcommittee, said it was too early to discuss possible specific terms but criticized California’s home insurance policies.
“I think there are real problems… For far too long, the laws of the state of California have driven insurers out of that state, making it even more difficult to get home insurance,” Flood told Fox News Digital.
“I think California needs to do a few things. They must demonstrate that they are going to create an environment where home and home insurance is reflected in the risk, that they understand the risk, and that they price accordingly. Then when it comes to forest management, I think there are a lot of members of Congress who want to say, “How did this happen?”
Meanwhile, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who are typically adamant about steep cuts to offset any additional government spending, are no different about the California fires.
Rep. Ralph Norman called for a “pound of flesh for every dollar spent” to California (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“It needs to be more than paid for. They need to own it,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told reporters. “California has never exactly been the most conservative state when it comes to spending. In my opinion, we should get a pound of flesh from every dollar spent in California.”
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., who also serves on the House Appropriations Committee, told Fox News Digital: “Why would we continue to fund the same policies that caused the problem? I mean, seriously, why would you do that? “
California Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., did not explicitly rule out conditioning help but said people needed help as soon as possible.
“California must change the way it approaches issues like water, forest management, not to mention a lot of other things. I think we should absolutely demand that those changes happen. At the same time, we have to provide help to people who are suffering, who have lost everything, who have lost their homes, who have lost their communities, and we have to help them as quickly as possible, and we should not let anything happen. get in the way,” he said.
Not all Republicans are on board, however. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, whose own home state has seen its fair share of natural disasters, told Huffington Post, “I think we should provide relief like we do everyone else.”
But the idea has gained traction among the highest levels of GOP leadership — including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who pitched conditional disaster aid to reporters for the first time on Monday.
Rep. Kevin Kiley did not support but did not rule out conditioning aid while criticizing his home state’s progressive government. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)
“It appears to us that state and local leaders have failed in their duty. And in many ways, and that’s something that needs to be taken into account,” Johnson said. “I think there should probably be conditions attached to that aid. That’s my personal opinion. We’ll see what the consensus is.”
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Democrats, meanwhile, have fiercely attacked the idea.
“Conditioning aid to suffering people who have paid more than their fair share of federal taxes is uniquely reprehensible, even to my colleagues across the aisle,” Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., wrote on X .
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters during a news conference Tuesday. “I just want to say that it is outrageous for Speaker Johnson to attach conditions to this disaster relief, or to tie disaster relief to unrelated concepts like the debt ceiling. We should not use the pain and suffering of our fellow Americans to try to make policy changes.”
