Stop holding fire relief funds hostage
Sadly for their political independence — and for the wants and needs of their state’s citizens — members of Congress are often strong-armed into going along with President Trump’s wishes rather than being able to do the right thing because of the threat of being “primaried” — having the president support another GOP candidate in the next primary in a fit of pique over a vote he didn’t like.
But what’s particularly sad in this tragic time for tens of thousands of Los Angeles County residents now homeless, and thousands of business owners without a way to make a living, after the wildfires that essentially burned down Altadena and Pacific Palisades, is that some lawmakers are letting the needs of Southern Californians be trumped by presidential fits.
Because Trump — sometimes correctly, mostly incorrectly — blames the wildfires on liberal California politicians’ policies, he and some congressional leaders want to attach conditions to desperately needed federal disaster aid for Southern California.
It’s an unwarranted stance that will delay recovery efforts for our region. We find it to be appalling political gamesmanship, and we ask local electeds to stop it, pronto.
That’s why we appreciate those GOP House members who are willing to vote their conscience and do the right thing. Here’s how Calmatters puts it in the case of one of them: “Rep. Young Kim — a swing district Republican representing fire-prone parts of Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties — decried talks of conditional aid as ‘playing politics with people’s livelihoods’ and a ‘slap in the face’ to wildfire victims and firefighters.”
When Trump came to the Palisades last week, Kim said that while she thinks California has “a lot of problems,” those were “unrelated” to the distribution of federal aid. “The bottom line is this: The message that we gave to (Trump) — and then the message that he reaffirmed with us — is that regarding the wildfires, if aid is needed, we must deliver,” Kim said. “Let’s not put politics over saving people’s lives and bringing relief to the families and those who are affected by it.”
Proposals like tying aid to voter ID laws are unreasonable. Congress should set such political games aside and do what’s right.