WASHINGTON — There’s no specific new disaster aid to help victims of the devastation from the Southern California wildfires in the budget bill Congress is considering this week.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking $39.68 billion in emergency aid, and a UCLA Anderson analysis last week said total property and others losses could top that.

But in the budget bill due for a House vote Tuesday, “We’re not adding extra money. We’re staying within the limits that we have,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which writes spending legislation.

Cole, regarded as a willing negotiator on budget matters, told The Bee as he stood outside his Capitol office that the disaster money should eventually be available and would probably come with some conditions. But regarding funding itself, he said, “we’re going to be very generous.”

Trump and a top aide have suggested tough conditions, but Cole seemed to downplay adding anything too controversial.

“Some of our people, they want to add things, conditions,” he said, and any strings attached to the money should “minimize the chances of this happening again.”

As examples, he said, “keep the reservoirs full or… be able to take the brush out.

“I don’t want to blackmail California,” Cole said. “I want to work with California. They’ve got a legitimate need.”

No timeline for aid

Neither he nor anyone else with authority could say when the aid could be considered.

Congress and President Donald Trump have until Friday to approve a budget that funds the federal government through Sept. 30. If they can’t agree, much of the government shuts down.

The 99-page proposal due for a House vote as soon as Tuesday generally keeps spending at current levels.

California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom have pushed hard for help. Newsom visited Washington last month and met with Trump and other top officials, and sent his letter to top congressional budget decision-makers Feb. 21. No response has been reported yet.

On Friday, the entire California congressional delegation – the two Democratic senators, 43 Democratic and nine Republican House members – wrote congressional leaders urging them “to ensure Los Angeles County has the resources it needs to recover and rebuild in an upcoming disaster relief bill.”

How aid can be approved

There are several ways aid can be approved in the coming months. One is from an emergency spending bill, called a supplemental appropriation.

Another is to provide help through the normal budget process. But if a current year budget is adopted this week, no other comprehensive budget is likely to be adopted until just before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Complicating any aid to California is the sentiment among top Republicans to attach conditions. Trump has suggested changes in California’s voter ID laws and policies on water release. California already requires voters to show identification before they can register to vote.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told The Bee last month he favors some conditions but was not specific..

Ric Grenell, a California aide to Trump, last month suggested that the government defund the California Coastal Commission as a condition of providing aid. That’s pretty much impossible since much of its funding comes from the state. The commission’s mission is to protect the state’s coastline.

Cole said he was sympathetic to California’s needs.

“I have no problem giving disaster aid to California. They clearly need it,” he said. “I have no problem with what California submitted, but if there’s going to be anything else attached, I don’t know."

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