Florida, Puerto Rico receive federal disaster funding,

Florida, Puerto Rico get billions

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TALLAHASSEE – Billions of federal dollars will flow to Florida and Puerto Rico to help fix the damage wrought by hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The money is part of a $90 billion disaster aid package approved in Washington on Friday that also includes Hurricane Harvey-ravaged Texas and California, which was struck by wildfires.

“This is a big win for all those who are still struggling to recover from last summer’s devastating storms,” U.S. Bill Nelson, DOrlando, said in a statement. “For some, the funding in this bill is a light at the end of the tunnel and a major step forward in helping them return to the way life used to be before these storms.”

The package has $2.7 billion for schools affected by the storms, including districts in Florida taking in Puerto Rican students whose families fled the island because of Maria, which devastated the island on Sept. 20. And there is $2.3 billion to help agriculture, including Florida citrus farmers, recover after losing much of their crop after Irma struck Sept. 10-11.

“The passage of this spending bill is a critical first step to finally getting Florida’s farmers, ranchers and growers long-awaited and desperately needed relief,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who is running for governor.

Putnam went to Washington twice after Irma hit to get funding for citrus farmers, who endured $760 million in losses after Irma, according to federal officials.

Nearly a third of Puerto Rico remains without electricity four months after Maria hit, and the bill has $2 billion to repair its power grid. Worries about health care funding for Puerto Rico also are addressed by the $4.8 billion to pay for the island’s Medicaid program for the next two years.

That money, however, won’t come close to covering the destruction suffered by Puerto Rico, according to its governor, Ricardo Rosselló. In November, he estimated the U.S. territory would need $94.4 billion to recover from both hurricanes.

In Florida, funding for repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike in Lake Okeechobee, something Gov. Rick Scott has pushed Trump and congressional leaders for, was also included in the overall budget deal approved Friday. The money, part of $10.4 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, will help the agency complete repairs by 2022.

“For months, we have worked to ensure that Florida is provided the needed federal relief following Hurricane Irma,” Scott said in a statement. “The funding provided today will help the recovery of our state’s iconic citrus industry, better prepare our communities as they continue to welcome families displaced by Hurricane Maria and aid in Puerto Rico’s recovery.”

Scott is considering a run for Senate this year in which he would challenge Nelson.

Although the deal benefits Florida, it was bittersweet for some Republicans who’ve campaigned on fiscal conservatism and the urgent need to reduce the national debt. The overall bill included spending increases for the military, but also for social safety net programs, a requirement to secure the Democratic votes in the Senate needed for it to pass.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, also praised the disaster funding but said it was “upsetting” that it was tangled up with an overall budget deal that did not cut spending.

“We must begin to seriously address the long-term drivers of our debt and get our fiscal house back in order,” Rubio said.

The ramifications could play heavily in the midterm elections this year.

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Marineland, is running against Putnam in the GOP primary for governor. He is a member of the Freedom Caucus that frequently criticizes House Republican leaders for not cutting spending. But he voted for the bill.

He said he did so because it keeps the military funded for two years, ending the stop-gap budgeting measures that have hampered long-term planning, and because of the disaster funding for Florida and Puerto Rico.