[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HUMANITY MUST ALWAYS TAKE PRECEDENCE

  (Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about Americans who are 
hurting, who have been suffering over the last 10 days as a result of 
the fires that have occurred in Los Angeles and south coast basin.
  What we are talking about is the moral imperative of what America has 
always done to help the American people when they are in need, whether 
it is hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, earthquakes, fires, or natural 
disasters of every kind you can imagine.
  In the wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles and south coast basin, 
over 40,000 acres have burned, 12,000 buildings have been destroyed, 
and 24 lives and counting have been lost. There certainly will be more. 
That is more than 30,000 football fields. Think about it.
  The pain, the suffering, the social, and the economic losses--from 
homes to businesses to churches and synagogues--have changed people's 
way of life.
  I am appalled to hear that some of my Republican friends are openly 
discussing conditioning wildfire relief upon their partisan agendas. 
That is wrong. We should not forget that over $120 million of hurricane 
relief was provided to the State of Louisiana when they needed it over 
the last 20 years. Humanity must always take precedence over 
partisanship.

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