Three members of the Florida delegation teamed up last week to urge President Donald Trump to approve Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to send federal aid to the Sunshine State in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.
The congressmen from Florida–Democrat U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings and Republican U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan and Ross Spano–wrote Trump on the matter last week.
On Friday, Spano, currently in his first year in Congress, weighed in on the request and he offered praise for the way DeSantis and Florida handled the hurricane.
“Florida did an outstanding job preparing for the threat of Hurricane Dorian,” Spano said. “Governor DeSantis, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the county emergency management departments should be commended for their work.
“However, the protective measures they took to properly prepare for the worst case scenario that looked like it was heading for Florida cost a great deal of local and state tax dollars. Not to mention, many Florida districts, including my own, are still feeling the budget impacts of responding to past hurricanes like Irma and Michael. This funding to reimburse communities is necessary to help Florida get back on its feet,” Spano added.
The Florida delegation has been actively trying to get help from FEMA. Before Hurricane Dorian impacted the Sunshine State, the delegation called for a pre-landfall disaster declaration.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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