Schiff calls Johnson ‘shameless’ for withholding aid – Washington Examiner
In a recent statement, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) criticized house Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for suggesting that federal aid for California should be conditional. Schiff emphasized that many Americans are currently suffering and recalled his efforts to secure aid for states affected by disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, without imposing unrelated conditions. His comments followed Johnson’s proclamation that he wouldn’t support unconditional aid for California due to ongoing challenges in the state. Schiff also expressed hope that President Trump, during a visit to California, was moved by the extent of the devastation caused by wildfires. Simultaneously occurring, the California legislature has approved a $2.5 billion aid package to assist with the ongoing firefighting efforts and address related issues in emergency services.
Schiff calls Mike Johnson ‘shameless’ for withholding aid to California
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) shamed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for teasing the idea of only providing aid to California with conditions, while “Americans are hurting right now.”
As of Sunday, three fires in Los Angeles have yet to be 100% contained. In the meantime, a fourth fire erupted in San Diego County Thursday and is only 10% contained. Johnson went on the record to say he won’t “commit” to giving the state the aid it needs with no strings attached “because we have a serious problem in California.”
“That is just shameful. Americans are hurting right now. When his state was hit by Katrina, I fought to get aid for Katrina. I went with a congressional delegation a year later to see how the recovery was going and to raise issues about how slow it was and how we needed to bring more urgency to it,” Schiff said on Meet the Press Sunday in response to Johnson’s comments. “I never even thought for a moment, ‘Okay, this is a red state, maybe we shouldn’t provide aid, or maybe we should tie it to some unrelated policy objective.’ I think it is shameful what he is saying, and let me say this, as a Californian, we have given more to the recovery of other states than any other state in the union. You do not want to go down this road.”
Schiff instead expressed his hope that President Donald Trump “was moved” by his trip to the state on Friday, since he saw “the scope of the devastation.” The senator said he was glad the president made the trip. When asked if he would vote for a bill that provided aid to California, among other legislation, he refused to voice his support.
“I am not going to go down the road for the first time ever of conditioning aid to Americans who are hurting with unrelated policy matters. We’re just not going to go there,” Schiff said.
Earlier this week, the California legislature approved a bipartisan aid measure to the tune of $2.5 billion toward the Los Angeles fires.
This comes after Mayor Karen Bass cut $17.6 million from the emergency services budget, which directly compromised fire departments. Meanwhile, the hydrants in these communities ran out of water from their hydrants. The areas have supplied hydrants with water from nearby reservoirs and water tanks but have since needed to transport water in, per the Los Angeles Water and Power Department.
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