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Rep. Chu Votes for Disaster Assistance for California Wildfires

May 10, 2019

Washington, DC — The House of Representatives today passed H.R. 2157, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2019, which provides $19.1 billion in emergency spending to provide disaster relief. The emergency relief in this bill would assist California in recovering from the recent wildfires, including emergency watershed protection, Bureau of Reclamation fire remediation and suppression assistance, National Park Service construction funding, Safe Drinking Water Act funding for facility repairs, and behavioral health treatment and crisis counseling for victims. The bill would also provide $720.3 million for wildland fire management, which would be used to repay Forest Service accounts that were drawn down to cover wildfire suppression shortfalls last year. The bill would also assist victims of recent tornados in Alabama and floods in the Midwest and includes help for communities in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. Funding for Puerto Rico is included, but less than is needed because of political resistance from President Trump. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) voted for the aid package and issued the following statement:

"This is an aid package that is long overdue. Communities across the country, including California, have waited too long for federal assistance after experiencing some of the worst natural disasters in history. These disasters resulted in billions of dollars in lost property and lost lives. It should be uncontroversial for Congress to step up and help, but our efforts have been held up by Donald Trump's opposition to helping Puerto Rico adequately recover. I am glad that an agreement was reached that could meet California's needs, but California is not alone. We stand with our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico who deserve the same respect and support in their own recovery. I urge the President and Republicans to drop their opposition to aid for Puerto Rico. We should not be playing politics with people's lives."