FEMA Pulls Swap On Rick Scott, Denies Florida Federal Funds [View all]

[monmouth]

This really pleases me.

Is Florida the state that cried wolf?

Republican Governor Rick Scott and the legislature have turned away federal funding earmarked for the state of Florida over and over again, from $2.4 billion for high-speed rail projects to $31 million to prevent child abuse and infant mortality to $40 million that would move disabled children out of nursing homes and back with their families.

And now that the governor is asking for federal funds, the Florida GOP is upset to find FEMA saying "no": Scott is appealing the agency's rejection of his $26.9 million request for help with damages from eventual Hurricane Isaac.

State Republican Party chairman Lenny Curry accused the Obama administration of making the decision political in a statement, according to Sunshine State News.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that FEMA director Craig Fugate, who was Florida's Florida Division of Emergency Management director from 2001-09, wrote in a letter to Scott that damage from Isaac wasn't severe enough to warrant federal aid and argued the state could handle the expense. The storm didn't become a hurricane until after it sideswiped the state, causing heavy flooding in Palm Beach County and parts of the Panhandle.

Much more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/fema-denies-federal-funds-rick-scott_n_1909894.html