In her first town hall of 2019, Rep. Katie Hill took questions from constituents about the government shutdown in Palmdale on Sunday.
Hill, D-Palmdale, was asked about different components of the government affected by the three-week-long shutdown, including veterans affairs, Social Security and fire safety in California.
“The VA is funded separately thanks to previous legislation that was passed because of a previous government shutdown,” she said. “So the VA and related VA programing (are) funded separately.”
While Social Security is also funded separately, Hill said legislators will move forward with an appropriations bills to fund separate pieces of the government next week.
On fire safety, Hill said she will work with other California legislators to configure the Farm Bill, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump, to partner the federal, state and local levels for full access to fire prevention and fire recovery efforts.
“I got my fellow freshmen from the California class to join existing California members of Congress, on both parties, to write a letter to (President Donald) Trump to ensure that we’re waiving the matching requirements for California, for fire recovery efforts,” Hill said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, will continue to provide assistance to families paying for household repairs not covered by insurance in Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, according to a press release on Jan. 3.
Democratic leadership in Congress and the White House remain at an impasse over the issue of funding for a wall along the Mexican border.
