Charlie Crist may have stood publicly with President Obama on the stimulus, but Florida is falling down on the use of the funds.
Democratic senate candidate Kendrick Meek also indicates that they left money for unemployment on the table when the legislative session ended.
Florida last in stimulus spendingFlorida ranked dead last for federal dollars promised per capita, based on numbers posted on a White House Web site last month. Now, a key Congressional committee says Florida also ranks last when it comes to actually spending federal highway stimulus money it does receive.
In a letter sent Thursday, U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minnesota, chided Crist for failing to spend “quickly, efficiently, and in harmony with job creating purposes of the Act.”
Oberstar, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, noted that Florida had spent 2 percent of the $1.35 billion allocated for highway projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed in March. The average across the country: 23 percent of the highway money spent as of July.
The ranking Republican on the transportation committee, Orlando’s John Mica, said: “I just about fell to the floor when I read the report ... to wind up 51st is kind of embarrassing.”
The reasons given:
Florida’s Transportation Secretary, Stephanie C. Kopelousos, referred questions to an Assistant Secretary, Kevin Thibault. Thibault said the slow spending is part of a strategy to use the money on large highway improvement projects — the Dolphin/Palmetto interchange in Miami-Dade and another large interchange near Tampa — that will take longer to get going.
The upside, Thibault said, is that the economic stimulus, once it begins, won’t be short-lived.
There is another part of the stimulus intended for big, long-term projects.
Mary Kerr, a spokeswoman for the House Transportation Committee, said Florida’s strategy runs contrary to the spirit of the stimulus program. “The intent of the bill was to get people back to work right away,” she said.
Kerr said a separate pot of federal money, known as the “surface transportation authorization,” is intended for big, long-term projects. The current plan calls for spending $331 billion over the next six years. Oberstar wants to raise that to $450 billion.
Kendrick Meek, the Democrat who is running against Charlie Crist for senator...had some things to say about his state being 51st in using the stimulus money.
Meek says Crist’s leadership is “absent”“This is part of a disturbing and now repeating trend taking place in my home state.
“After meeting with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in April, I learned that Florida had delayed the submission of required paperwork to receive an education waiver and qualify for over two billion in stimulus dollars to support our education system by avoiding teacher cutbacks and helping fund school programs. The Governor pointed the finger of blame at his Education Commissioner who in turn pointed the finger of blame at the Governor, who reasoned that this delay was part of a larger “strategy.” Florida eventually did what was right and filed the waiver application to receive these dollars.
“During the legislative session, absent any leadership or direction from the Governor, the Republican-controlled state House and state Senate refused to make the legislative fixes required to allow Florida to draw down $444 million to extend unemployment benefits for the now nearly 11 percent jobless Floridians. Money that was due to my state was left on the table in Washington because of inaction in Tallahassee.
“Now we are learning that Florida is once again spurning these vital stimulus dollars to help rebuild our roadways. As a former Trooper in the Florida Highway Patrol who still spends a lot of time driving on Florida’s highways and byways, I know this money is essential.
I had wondered about the extended unemployment insurance. I had not seen it mentioned for a while. Meek's statement is from yesterday. Here is more about what the legislature had been threatening to do
about $440 million in additional workers' compensation benefitsWhile Republican Gov. Charlie Crist warmly embraced the Democratic spending plan, some Republican state House members suggested they might refuse some of the money. In the end, the Legislature will likely reject about $440 million in additional workers' compensation benefits that could trigger a higher tax on businesses.
Lawmakers will take the remaining $13 billion.
"We have to spend what we have,'' said Rep. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican. "Most of us are beyond the philosophical questions at this point."
Meek's words yesterday confirm that they have not done their best about getting those benefits.
It is pathetic to be 51st.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
