By Jennifer Shutt | AZ Mirror
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that Congress will likely provide billions in disaster aid to help California recover from devastating wildfires, but indicated he might set a new precedent by placing conditions on that emergency funding based on policy and political differences with the Democratic-led state and the city of Los Angeles.
“No one wants to leave any American who is in need hanging, so to speak, right?” said Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. “But at the same time, we recognize that we have a $36 trillion federal debt and we have to balance these needs. It’s about priorities.”
Federal natural disaster aid doesn’t historically come with strings attached since hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires affect large swaths of the country that are represented by lawmakers from both political parties.
Johnson said he had watched footage of the fires in and around Los Angeles with “heartache” and acknowledged Louisiana has received significant federal disaster aid without conditions, though he said things must change.
