Local congressional representatives are urging their colleagues in Congress to withhold their support for the Trump administration’s Iran war funding request until the body approves “long-overdue” disaster funding for areas impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
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Reps. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena; Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks; Norma Torres, D Ontario; and California Democratic Congressional Delegation Chair Zoe Lofgren, D-Salinas, said in a letter to leaders in Congress last week “that it is deeply disappointing that since January 2025, not a single step has been taken by the White House to submit a request for federal disaster aid, not just for California, but also for the over 30 States, Tribes, or Territories with major disaster declarations.”
At the same time, they point to the Trump administration’s request for $67 billion to fund U.S. military operations in the Iran war – all that on top of Congress’ consideration of the Pentagon’s budget request of $1.15 trillion. With another $350 billion in “mandatory funding” the Trump administration wants added, together it would be the largest defense budget since World War II, adjusted for inflation, according to the Brookings Institution, a think tank.
Sherman, who represents the area impacted by the Palisades fire, and Chu, who represents the area affected by the Eaton fire, say the goal is to create a $34 billion package for California’s disaster funding and billions more needed by 30 other states, tribes and territories to support rebuilding costs.
Indeed, rebuilding has been moving in starts and stops, since the dual catastrophes torched footprints on the L.A. County coast and in its foothills on Jan. 7, 2025.
The Eaton fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures and left at least 19 dead.
The Palisades fire left 12 dead and destroyed nearly 7,000 structures.
By April of this year, leaders were lamenting continued angst in the rebuild and recovery process.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents towns impacted by the Eaton fire, while highlighting the more than 1,025 homes under construction in the burn area, and the 2,000 building permits issued, noted that these numbers also show up another tally: with more than 6,000 homes lost in the blaze, only about 50% had applied to rebuild.
By July, according to the county, 3,039 permits to rebuild have been issued, with 110 structures completed.
The 3,533 total rebuild applications received is still a fraction of the total destroyed.
Survivors who lost homes in the fires still face major barriers to rebuilding, from insurance gaps to environmental concerns, to simply lacking the capital to rebuild at at time when costs keep rising. Thousands from the Palisades and Altadena areas remain displaced.
Going back to last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom has been asking the Trump administration for more than $30 billion.
Last month, U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla decried the lack of L.A. wildfire recovery aid in the Trump administration’s request for $87.6 billion from Congress to address some of the nation’s most “urgent needs.”
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The same week Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin met with county and local leadership who continued advocating for the federal government to increase its support for the Eaton fire rebuild effort.
Zeldin spent about an hour in Altadena touring construction sites and speaking with Barger and Altadena Town Council Chair Nic Arnzen.
Barger said she wanted Zeldin to see an example of outside-the-box thinking being applied to Altadena’s rebuild. She reiterated the ask from the county for about $8 billion in federal relief dollars for Altadena.
Zeldin described the relationship between the EPA and Barger’s office as strong and distinguished the types of response his agency has provided since the fire between 2025 and 2026.
“We share the common goal of wanting to do everything in our power to help local residents,” Zeldin said.
Zeldin touted the recent announcement of the Federal Emergency Management Agency approving California’s request to extend financial assistance under the individuals and households program for survivors until July 9, 2027, for homeowners and until Oct. 9, 2026, for renters.
According to FEMA, more than 35,000 households have received assistance through the program and $177 million awarded to fire survivors.
The letter – addressed to House leaders Reps. Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Hakeen Jeffries, D-New York, and to Senate leaders Sens. John Thune, R-South Dakota, and Chuck Schumer, D-New York, was signed by a array of House members across California.
The supplemental request is moving in D.C.
On Tuesday, Johnson said House Republicans were getting a briefing from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on Tuesday evening as they consider the broader $350 billion defense funding boost amid the war in Iran.
“You heard the president talk about how he wants to effectively double the funding for national defense,” Johnson said, according to The Hill. Look, we live in dangerous times. We’re fighting communism on our own shores, and we’re fighting evil terrorists and tyrants around the world, and we have to be able to protect our national security.”
As for the supplemental funding: “People wanted to talk about munitions, and so this is a munitions supplemental, and I really would be really disappointed if my Democrat colleagues say out of hand we’re going to reject the supplemental,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said Tuesday morning during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing for four senior Pentagon civilian nominees, according to The Hill.
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City Editor Ryan Carter contributed to this report.