The House is barreling toward a contentious debate over disaster relief for California as many \u2014 but not all \u2014 Republicans call for conditions to be placed on the assistance, an idea Democrats are soundly rejecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaker Mike Johnson\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-La.) on Monday threw his support behind placing stipulations on aid designed to help California recover from historically devastating wildfires, while accusing local officials of water resource and forest mismanagement. He re-upped that position Tuesday, and many Republicans \u2014 including some in the Golden State \u2014 are echoing that sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere will have to be conditions,\u201d Rep. Tom McClintock\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Calif.), who represents the San Joaquin Valley in Central and Northern California, told The Hill. \u201cWe can\u2019t allow the policies that have created the conditions for such a disaster to continue. There\u2019s an old saying, \u2018You can\u2019t fill a broken bucket by pouring more water in it.\u2019 At some point you\u2019ve got to fix the bucket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Democrats, however, are shooting down that prospect, contending the conversation about California\u2019s policies should be separate from any discussion about assistance for those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can have a lengthy debate and discussion and use the committee process to have discussions about the steps that California has taken to protect itself. But at the end of the day, ultimately this will mean disaster assistance, and that needs to be free from partisan conditions,\u201d House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, the highest-ranking California Democrat on Capitol Hill, said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The emerging discussion comes as wildfires are still raging through California and as winds that could worsen conditions are expected to pick up in the coming days. Some lawmakers say the wildfires are on track to be the most damaging and expensive natural disaster in U.S. history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Republicans haven\u2019t come to a public agreement on what conditions should be included in the aid package: At least one is calling for policy changes on the local level, some want the legislation to be paid for, and others have floated tying a debt limit increase to the assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe got to get a pound of flesh for any dollar that\u2019s spent on California, in my opinion,\u201d said Rep. Ralph Norman\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-S.C.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked by The Hill on Tuesday what stipulations he is considering, Johnson responded \u201cI\u2019m not going to project what that might be,\u201d before taking aim at state officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf Gavin Newsom and local leaders made decisions that made this disaster exponentially worse, which it appears there were, should there be some consequence to that? Should there be some sort of safeguard on the funding?\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be looking at policies, and we\u2019re going to be looking at culpability, and I think that\u2019s going to be a very important thing, not just for Congress, but for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Darrell Issa\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Calif.), a 22-year veteran of the House who represents San Diego, sounded a similar note, saying \u201cnobody\u2019s made any ideas on conditions, but we are looking at everything related to this incredible, disastrous and damaging fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want to have the ounce of prevention included in the power to cure,\u201d he added. \u201cBecause just paying for the aftereffects of the fire, or part of them, isn\u2019t enough when you look and say, \u2018What will California change? Or the federal government change?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some lawmakers, however, are suggesting ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McClintock, the Republican from California, said he wants to see \u201cpolicy reforms to assure that the land-management practices that minimize these fires will be put back in place,\u201d while members of the Freedom Caucus \u2014 including its chair, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) \u2014 are demanding that the aid be offset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf we do any more disaster aid, it should be paid for, and it should be paid for in full, and there should definitely be conditions put on California,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there is the discussion about attaching a debt ceiling increase to the California disaster relief rather than the sprawling GOP-led reconciliation package, an idea that was floated over the weekend as House Republicans met with President-elect Trump. Such a move \u2014 which Johnson confirmed is in the mix \u2014 would dare California Democrats to vote against the disaster aid because of their opposition to the borrowing limit play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n