Costing Florida residents $354 Million dollars, DeSantis refused to accept funding from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act earmarked for Florida.
U.S. Congressional Representative Kathy Castor (FL-14) accused Florida’s Republican Governor of being a ‘pickpocket’ when he refused to accept $354 million dollars in Federal funding provided through the Inflation Reduction Act designed to help deal with the climate crisis by expanding tax credits for clean energy and electric vehicles, boosting energy efficiency, and reducing air pollution at ports, among other environment saving provisions.
The Florida Congresswomen who chaired the first U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis from 2019 until 2023 said when Ron DeSantis vetoed a $5 million line-item that would have allowed the state to train staff to administer federal funds totaling $354 million to address energy efficiency, he lost Florida taxpayers the right to the money.
In an interview on WMNF Radio yesterday Castor said, “I call it a pickpocket. Pickpocketing Floridians, making the cost of living more expensive. We’re already paying higher property insurance than anywhere else in the country, higher electric bills. He has been a disaster for clean energy and environment in Florida.”
DeSantis rejected funding that would have allocated $174 million in rebates for energy-efficiency, $173 million for rebates to purchase energy-efficient home appliances, and $7 million for a training program for electrical contractors.
DeSantis has dismissed the danger of climate change, but still spent $300 million in state taxpayer funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for 71 new resilience and adaptation projects. And he allocated $640 million in taxpayer money in last year’s budget for local governments to deal with sea-level rise, storms, and flooding.
About the writer: Matthew Woodruff is an Independent Journalist and Author who believes in Freely Accessible, Honest and Open Reporting. Visit at matthewcwoodruff.com.
Comments / 1462