Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

Padilla: “Whether it’s wildfires across the western United States, or tornados in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas, or hurricanes in the Southeast, Mother Nature doesn’t distinguish between red states and blue states. And neither should our disaster response efforts.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As devastating wildfires rage across California, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor urging his Republican colleagues and President-elect Trump to provide essential disaster recovery aid to California without conditioning it on the passage of partisan legislation.

Several Senate and House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have indicated they will leverage disaster aid as a bargaining chip to require specific conditions that advance their political agenda. This threat runs in stark contrast to how both Democrats and Republicans have responded to previous crises for years.

Padilla emphasized that California has been there to support other states in their time of need with no strings attached, and pushed Congress to do the same for California in return. He further underscored that in 2022 alone, California paid $83 billion dollars more to the federal government than it received, making it the largest contributing state of tax revenue in the nation by far.

Fueled by wind gusts up to 100 miles per hour, the Southern California fires have burned over 12,000 structures and over 40,000 acres — nearly three times the size of Manhattan. Over two dozen Angelenos have lost their lives, and that number is expected to rise as urban search and rescue teams continue to survey the damage from the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles history. Padilla applauded the brave firefighters, first responders, and local heroes who have worked tirelessly to put out these disastrous fires and provide hope for Southern California survivors.

He also extended an invite to President-elect Trump to see the destruction in Southern California communities like Altadena and Pacific Palisades, where over 37,000 acres have burned since early last week.

Key Excerpts:

• Over the course of the last week, I’ve had the opportunity to visit command posts and meet with firefighters; had the opportunity to distribute meals to many of the victims and to see, to tour, to visit the destruction firsthand. Yes, there are survivors, people impacted from communities like the Pacific Palisades, some with names and faces that you’ll recognize from television and the entertainment industry. But I assure you there’s also a lot of other faces and families that you won’t recognize from the working-class and diverse communities throughout Los Angeles County.

• I’ve been saying over and over that every house you see is really a home, and every home represents a family. A family who now mourns maybe the loss of a relative, maybe the loss of their home. Or a loss of irreplaceable items like family photo albums. Or a wedding dress. Or baby pictures. Of a loved one’s red, white, and blue military burial flag. But through the destruction, we’ve also seen some signs of hope.

• Our hearts go out to all the impacted families and they also go out to the heroic firefighters and other first responders working tirelessly through multi-day shifts to put out these fires. Not only the brave state and local firefighters, but I want to acknowledge the federal firefighters, too. To the state and local officials working day and night to protect our state and our communities, thank you. And I also want to acknowledge Governor Newsom for his steady hand during this time.

• We are so grateful to our neighboring states who continue to send resources. And no, not just states that are considered blue states like Oregon and Washington, but states that many people refer to as red states like South Dakota and Wyoming and Montana and Florida who continue to send resources with no strings attached, no conditions. This is what we do for each other. There’s a reason why it’s called mutual aid.

• Soon there will come a time when we need to more than just support our response to these disasters. We’ll need support for our recovery. And we expect Congress to support California, just as Congress has been there for states across the country in their times of crisis — with no conditions and no strings attached. Because our recovery isn’t just a California fight. We’re truly in this together as Americans.

• Whether it’s wildfires across the western United States, or tornados in the Midwest, ice storms in Texas, or hurricanes in the Southeast, Mother Nature does not distinguish between red states and blue states. And neither should our disaster response efforts or our recovery efforts.

• So when I hear about political jabs and insults on social media while my home state is burning, it’s not distracting. It’s certainly not entertaining. It’s offensive. And it is dangerous. Because let’s be clear: in times of crisis, California has always been there for the rest our country. And now, we expect our country to be here for California.

• And to President-elect Trump, I too invite you to tour Altadena and Pacific Palisades, which, by the way, is just about 30 miles from your golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes. Come meet the first responders. Come meet the families that have been affected by these fires.

• It’s a long road and there will be challenges to overcome indeed, but I promise you this: that there will be a day when the fires are put out, when the homes and entire communities are rebuilt — better and more resilient than they’ve been before.

Video of Padilla’s remarks is available here.

Padilla’s full remarks as delivered are available here.

Senator Padilla has long been a leader in strengthening the federal and state response to wildfires. His legislation to strengthen the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) wildfire preparedness and response efforts, the FIRE Act, became law in 2022. Padilla also successfully advocated for California to receive billions for wildfire response and drought relief in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. After years of delays due to contracting issues, Padilla secured an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2024 to finalize the transfer of seven C-130s from the Coast Guard to California to retrofit for fighting wildfires. The first of these planes began fighting deadly wildfires this summer and has been instrumental in fighting the ongoing Southern California fires. 

Most recently, Padilla secured an amendment to bolster the FireGuard program, which utilizes military satellites to help fight wildfires, as part of the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2025. Last month, he successfully secured unanimous Senate passage of the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which includes Padilla’s bipartisan legislation to provide critical tax relief for wildfire survivors who have received compensation for the losses and damages they have suffered and was signed into law last month. He also previously introduced the Fire Suppression Improvement Act, a bill to help ease the burden on state and local governments who are shouldering the weight of increasingly devastating wildfires.

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