How to reduce federal spending – and how much – it’s currently spending congressional Republicans.
Firestorms are scorching Southern California. But a political firestorm is about to set Capitol Hill on fire.
The dynamics of natural disasters have turned into an ordinary fiscal nightmare in Congress. And frankly, the way lawmakers handle natural disasters creates a hyperbarrier to seriously reducing the deficit and national debt.
Expect incredible costs.
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Wrecked cars remain in the river after flooding caused by Hurricane Helene about a month ago in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 30, 2024. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
“This is going to be a very expensive event,” predicted Rep. George Whitesides, D-Calif.
FEMA is getting ready for the price.
“We know it’s going to be billions,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said.
President Biden promises help.
“We will pay for it. And we have to be willing to pay for it,” the president said. “We will need the United States Congress to continue making appropriations to help provide meaningful assistance to our fellow Americans who need this assistance.”
Catastrophic natural disasters are now hitting different parts of the US at an alarming rate. Devastating forest fires hit Maui in 2023. Tornado outbreaks are the norm. Heat-related blackouts – or snowstorms combined with bone-chilling cold – black out the power grid. Twin hurricanes Milton and Helene swept through the South last year, destroying property just days apart during the fall. Water poured out of rivers, streams, steams, streams and culverts, submerging entire communities.
Congress coughed $100 billion just before Christmas to help hurricane victims recover. Some of that money went to help people restart their businesses or cover rebuilding costs. Of that, $27 billion went to refill FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to prepare for future emergencies—like the one burning the Golden State right now. Milton and Helene emptied the DRF.
The aftermath of the wildfires in Los Angeles could become a fiscal nightmare for lawmakers as the new Congress tries to tackle the growing US national debt.
But Republicans now run Congress. President-elect Trump will soon occupy the Oval Office. And when it comes to California – and what may have started the fires, Republicans may be reluctant to help. This is especially true because the Republican mantra is to cut $2 trillion in spending. In fact, there is fear among some Democrats that Republicans in Congress and President-elect Trump might try to punish California — because it leans left.
Republicans now control the House of Representatives and the Senate. Mr. Trump takes office next week.
“When it comes to funding from Congress, the idea that we’re going to have an open checkbook, no matter how bad your policies are, is crazy,” Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told FOX Business.
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Democrats have warned of divisiveness between parties and the region when natural disasters strike.
“California voted to support additional hurricane packages in the American South. And now is our time of need,” Whitesides said.
Several Northern California Republicans told Fox that Southern California Democrats have been extremely helpful in helping their part of the state after the wildfires.
So what happens when the bill comes for the Los Angeles wildfires?
“We’re helping all Americans,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, which oversees FEMA.
Members of Congress tour the disaster zone of the Altadena wildfires on January 11, 2025. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Thompson was confident that Congress would meet California’s needs.
If we need to do more, we will, Thompson said.
Some Republicans have blamed the wildfires — and the response — on liberal Democrats who govern much of California.
“It’s an epic disaster of mismanagement,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said on FOX Business.
“What is it what happened in California is the fault of (California Gov.) Gavin Newsom (D) and the legislature there.”
“What we can see is a failure of policy there and a failure of leadership in California,” piled up Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., on Fox. “We’re going to have to have real accountability. We have to have hearings to understand … to get to the bottom of what’s going on. What were the failures.”
California insurers have canceled hundreds of thousands of policies for homeowners in wildfire-prone areas after state regulators banned higher premiums — despite the dangers. Some Republicans have seized on the issue.
“California made some really bad policy decisions that caused these insurance companies to flee,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. “The people who made those political decisions must also be held accountable.”
Even some Democrats questioned the local response.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., worked on a bill that would help guarantee water for all Californians when they turn on the faucet while serving in the state legislature.
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“Why didn’t they have water? Was it negligence or just the fact that there were so many fires all over the city in so many different areas that the system was pushed to capacity and overwhelmed?” Gomez asked.
Other Democrats resented the GOP’s criticism of California leaders.
“I think it’s all just ridiculous,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. “I think the governor is on the ground and doing a great job of managing the response. I don’t think we should blame anybody.”
The cost of the fires likely means calls for another infusion of money from Congress for FEMA — just as Republicans are beginning to push for billions, if not more than a trillion, dollars in cuts. How can lawmakers pay for natural disasters – and yet cut all that money?
“It’s always going to be difficult. I think we’ve just got to prioritize. And I think we’ve got to match rising costs with cuts on the other side,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.
“To be clear, when that bill comes through for California, some conservatives want to see some offsets?” asked yours truly from Burchett.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington is photographed on October 8, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“Absolutely,” Burchett replied.
Wildfires would be a huge problem if Congress hadn’t appropriated more than $100 billion just for FEMA and various disasters before Christmas. Still, some Republicans are skeptical about FEMA’s ability to do the job.
“I doubt the people in California will get their $700 that they were promised. Because like what happened in North Carolina, in Tennessee, a lot of people were turned away because all their identification was burned or washed. And there everything will be burned, basically will just cluster,” Burchett predicted.
Florida’s former director of emergency management issued an ominous warning.
“I have bad news for everybody. Disasters are coming everywhere,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., remarked on MSNBC.
More disasters mean more demand for aid. That’s a challenge as Republicans try to cut spending.
A few wise souls on Capitol Hill have been developing a new model dealing with natural disasters. The current budget model is allocating funds under the premise that NOTHING will happen. Then it is sometimes a challenge for legislators to pass a law that provides additional help.
So there were two monster hurricanes in the fall. Forest fires now. What’s next? Earthquake? Blizzard? Ice storms? A tornado? Drought? Floods?
There have been debates about creating a “rainy day fund”—perhaps a “monsoon day fund”—that Congress could use to send large chunks of cash without the hassle when natural disasters strike.
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Other natural disasters are inevitable.
But congressional appropriations to cover the cost are far from there.
