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Jan 22, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Kamala Harris announces $600 million toward California wildfire recovery

Kierra Frazier
Vice President Kamala Harris, third left, is greeted by Representative Pete Aguilar.
Vice President Kamala Harris is greeted by from left, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California and the state's governor Gavin Newsom upon her arrival at San Bernardino International Airport. Photo: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris announced Friday that the administration is committing $1.3 billion to disaster relief funding, including $600 million for California.

The big picture: Harris visited a fire station in San Bernardino, California, as part of the Biden administration's effort to display the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal.

  • Harris announced that the $600 million funding would go to California after the state saw nearly 7 million acres lost due to wildfires in the past two years, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

What she's saying: "Specifically, there will be $5 billion and more actually for wildfire preparedness and resilience. And it will include and this requires its own conversation, a pay raise for our federal firefighters," Harris said.

  • ‘This is a subject that requires us to understand that when we as a country get in front of an issue, it is not because of any one leader or any one approach is because there’s collaboration is because there’s a recognition that the work that happens on the ground usually requires great skill. skill and hard work that should be rewarded," she added.
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