U.S. House Speaker Pitches Conditions on Disaster Aid, Upending Long-Standing Practice

By Jennifer Shutt for States Newsrooom

U.S. Capitol building (courtesy Smithsonian)

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.

“The Americans there that are affected desperately need and deserve help,” Johnson said. “But you’ve also heard us talk about our concerns with the governance of the state of California. And to the extent there is complicity involved in the scope of disaster, then we think that’s something that needs to be carefully regarded.”

Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, have levied numerous criticisms at California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass about their management of water resources, fire department budgets and forest management.

Some of what GOP politicians have said isn’t necessarily accurate, according to fact checks from the Los Angeles Times, CalMatters, PBS News and several other organizations.

CalMatters, a nonprofit news organization, has explained why wildfires season has become longer and more problematic. And the Los Angeles Times has repeatedly written about the Santa Ana winds and their impact on Southern California.

New Precedent

Johnson adding conditions or restrictions on federal disaster aid would set a new precedent that Democrats could use in the future when providing disaster aid for Republican-run areas of the country.

For example, Democrats could argue that a Republican-run state didn’t spend enough money to curb climate change, which contributes to more frequent and stronger natural disasters.

Democrats could also use Johnson placing restrictions on disaster aid to California as a reason to require GOP-controlled states to implement different building standards for homes or businesses in flood-prone areas or those consistently hit by hurricanes, including Louisiana.

Johnson said during the press conference that Congress would ultimately follow the Trump administration’s lead on a disaster aid package, but laid the groundwork for potentially shifting how lawmakers help state and local governments recover from natural disasters for decades to come.

“We will follow the administration’s lead on this,” Johnson said. “But I will say we have to make sure there are safeguards on the precious treasure of the American people. There are natural disasters, of course. But if they are made much worse by human error and deliberate policy choices that were unwise and were stated as such at the time, then I think that that’s something that needs to be carefully regarded.”

Dem Support Needed

Unless Republicans bundle a disaster aid bill within their reconciliation package, which seems unlikely, they’ll need Democratic support for the legislation.

That would give Democratic leaders the opportunity to head off Johnson’s efforts to place conditions on disaster aid, or seek other concessions.

While Republicans control both the House and Senate, those are especially small majorities and many GOP lawmakers vote against large-scale spending bills.

The Senate’s legislative filibuster also requires at least 60 of its members vote to advance bills toward final passage, which is more than the 53 Republican senators in that chamber.

Johnson noted during his press conference that the incoming Trump administration will need time to fully assess the damage from the wildfires before it can submit a supplemental spending request to Congress.

Once that happens, he said, the House will review the proposal and begin putting a bill together.

December Disaster Aid

Congress passed a roughly $100 billion emergency disaster aid bill in December to bolster numerous federal agencies that help Americans recover from natural disasters.

That followed the Biden administration asking lawmakers to approve about the same amount in emergency spending, including $40 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, $24 billion for the Department of Agriculture, $8 billion for the Department of Transportation to repair roads and bridges, and $2 billion for the Small Business Administration for low-interest disaster loans.

That request covered the ongoing federal response to wildfires in Maui; tornados through the Midwest; the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland; and severe storms in Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

It also followed Hurricanes Helene and Milton wreaking havoc in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Because of that package, Johnson said, FEMA, the Small Business Administration and others have enough aid to begin helping Southern California recover from the fires while also helping those throughout the rest of the country.