Congresswoman Torres Presses HUD Secretary and Trump Administration for Delaying LA Wildfire Disaster Aid

Congresswoman Torres Presses HUD Secretary and Trump Administration for Delaying LA Wildfire Disaster Aid

Washington, D.C - This week, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner, Congresswoman Norma Torres demanded answers on why the Trump Administration has failed to request disaster recovery funding for communities devastated by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, the first step in order for supplemental disaster funding aid to reach families, businesses, and local governments.

More than 100,000 Californians were displaced by the fires, and many families are still unable to return home more than a year later.

"When Texas was hit by Hurricane Harvey, I voted to deliver disaster aid because helping Americans recover should never be political," said Torres. "Now California families are waiting, and this Administration has not requested a single dollar for long-term recovery."

Torres highlighted the importance of HUD's Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and criticized the Administration for failing to submit a supplemental funding request for California's more than $34 billion in recovery needs.

"The only supplemental funding I keep hearing about is for the President's war in Iran," Torres said. "There should be no supplemental conversation that leaves wildfire survivors behind."

Torres also submitted bipartisan letters from California's congressional delegation urging immediate federal disaster assistance for the hearing record.

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