FEMA Pulls Swap On Rick Scott, Denies Florida Federal Funds

[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

[DURHAM D]

1. LOL there is a god...

[russspeakeasy]

3. No there isn't . If there was we wouldn't have ricky dick

as gov.

[MNBrewer]

5. Maybe god is just a big asshole, that would explain it.

[leftyohiolib]

2. sure is a bitch when administrators make decisions for politics sake (not that he did)

hope it burns, snotty

[RockaFowler]

4. As a Floridian it upsets me a little

We always get screwed by the Repukes decisions in Tallahassee (especially here in So Fla - mostly Democratic).

In this case, I'm trying to figure out what exactly the Federal Government should do. Yes we had flooding in our neighborhoods, but that's why you get Flood Insurance. There are sinkholes in my neighborhood, too (caused by the flooding) and most of those are not covered by your insurance. I think a lot of people neglected to get their insurance renewed and now they want the government to take care of them. This includes some of the people in the Palm Beach County area who knew they were in a Flood Prone area. They are close enough to Lake Okeechobee that they should have known better. And a lot of those people are Republicans. They vote with their guns and hate the government. Except now that they want something from the government.

On a side note where I live in Port St Lucie we had a ton of flooding. But our city and county used Stimulus funds to create better drainage for the area. Our streets were flooded, but our houses were not. Kind of the opposite in Palm Beach County. We have the same drainage system (a series of canals - PBC leads to Lake O and St Lucie leads to the St Lucie River), so I'm confused as to what went wrong.

Also, pRick Scott ruined the South Florida Water Management District. He cutback the agency and installed people he knew - not people who were qualified (sounds familiar)
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-09-21/news/fl-water-budget-objections-20120921_1_water-management-districts-budget-cuts-eric-buermann

A lot of this is his fault. He's burying this state on purpose.

[monmouth]

7. He knows he'll never be re-elected so I'm thinking some revenge stuff is going on..n/t

[Mojorabbit]

9. Same here

We are one of the hardest hit states from the collapse. This is another blow to those who actually need the help.

[dmr]

6. Federal money is only good if Scott can make the contractors & the land developers richer.

Any other money for progress and to actually help the citizens, well, forget that.

[porphyrian]

8. Sorry, Floridians, but FUCK RICK SCOTT, that stealing from Medicare motherfucker...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Scott