The following is the full transcript of an interview with Rep. Judy Chu, Democrat of California, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Jan. 12, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to California Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu, part of her district has been affected by the Eaton fire, and she joins us from the Pasadena Convention Center, currently sheltering more than 500 local residents. Good morning to you, Congresswoman. I know 11 of these reported deaths were in your community. How are you and do you know if the community is out of the danger zone at this point?
REP. JUDY CHU: It is not out of the danger zone. We have another Santa Ana gust of winds that will happen Monday or Tuesday. They will be around 50 miles per hour. That is less than what caused this whole terrible catastrophe. Last week, the winds were between 80 to 100 miles per hour, nonetheless, they could spread the fire. And I urge all residents to pay attention to the evacuation warnings and orders, and most of all, to make sure that they are safe.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I understand that there were water pressure issues in the Altadena area. There was no local police or fire department. You all rely on the county for that kind of resource. Do you think going forward, does this need to change? Have you talked to the governor?
REP. JUDY CHU: We have been in touch with the governor, but what I want to do is to assure people that there is enough water, and in fact, the fire department agencies have assured me that there is enough, but when the fires first happened, there was a combination of drastic winds and the fire and as a result, they were overwhelmed. This-this is not an ordinary incident, and many fire hydrants were going on at the same time, and also the electricity used to pump the water had been turned off so that there would not spark anymore fire. So that happened at that point, but I believe that we’re in a good place right now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I imagine a lot of the people in that shelter behind you are just wondering when they’ll be able to go and see what’s left of their neighborhoods. The state of California, as we understand it, put a moratorium Thursday on insurers dropping Californians from- from coverage. But it raises these questions of, are these communities going to be rebuilt and should they be rebuilt?
REP. JUDY CHU: These communities have to be rebuilt. I have the beautiful areas of Altadena and Pasadena, and these were vibrant communities, diverse communities with so much historic value behind them. People love these areas, and we need to make sure that there are the resources possible for them to rebuild their homes, as well as the incredible small businesses that are here. So this is why, after I took the tour of the devastated areas with-with our FEMA administrator, I decided to arrange for a tour of our California Congress members, which took place just yesterday, so that they could see the devastation for themselves. We need to make sure that Congress is ready to provide the help that’s needed to rebuild these areas like Altadena and Pasadena.
MARGARET BRENNAN: One of your Republican colleagues, went on Fox, Congressman Warren Davidson, and said he’d oppose having an open checkbook approach to a place that, no matter how bad your policies are, would be crazy. He said it sounds like he wants strings attached to further aid. Have you talked to Republican leadership? Have you talked to Speaker Johnson yet about coming to California?
REP. JUDY CHU: We are planning to invite speaker Johnson as well as President Trump, to come to this area and to witness the devastation for themselves. We have already been in touch with Republican Congress members, and they have expressed that they are very open to coming and seeing what is going on. You know, these wildfires don’t have any political affiliation. They don’t belong to any political party. This devastation has affected 1000s upon 1000s of people who just ran out of their homes with nothing in their hands, and are trying to rebuild, and they need help.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So in terms of that help, first, they have to figure out if their insurance covers anything, then they can go to the federal government for help. But FEMA has a grant. Limit of $44,000 it’s Congress that set that limit. Does that need to be raised? And are you hearing from your constituents that they are getting help? They’re able to access these resources?
REP. JUDY CHU: Well, first of all, I want to say that FEMA is opening a local assistance center on Tuesday, and anybody can walk in or call and get the assistance that they need. Actually, there are temporary locations too, happening even today and tomorrow at the local libraries. FEMA is also here at this Pasadena Convention Center. And so there are many ways in which people can get help. They- of course, what we are encouraging everybody to do is to sign up on Disasterassistance.gov immediately to get the process going. Of course, they will have to have their insurance information available.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we will see if raising the amount of assistance or what changes to assistance are made in the coming weeks and months. Congresswoman, Chu, thank you, and we wish you and your community the best of luck.
REP. JUDY CHU: Thank you.
