[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H203-H204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONDITIONING DISASTER AID IS UN-AMERICAN

  (Mr. CARBAJAL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say: Los Angeles, we are 
with you.
  Our hearts are with every single family who has lost a loved one, a 
livelihood, or some part of their community.
  We give thanks to the heroic first responders working to contain 
these fires.
  I also rise to ask, Mr. Speaker, are these families not American? 
What makes these families different from families we have helped after 
hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods in other States?
  To suggest that we should hold hostage the aid we give to these 
American families, families who have lost everything, is wrong and un-
American. Just look at what has been approved over the past decade, 
especially for so-called red States, I might add.

[[Page H204]]

  Have we ever said that those families should be punished for their 
State's political choices? Absolutely not. I am appalled and, frankly, 
sickened at the calls for conditioning aid for these families, these 
American families. They are crying out for help.
  Congress should respond immediately without hesitation or delay. Here 
is the map. Look at where the money has gone in the past decade.

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