The only surprise to me is that this was not an 8-1 decision. Or was it? Are votes typically not revealed in such matters? Is there such a thing as unnoted dissents? Or maybe it was a 8-0 decision, with one recusal. Hahaha! Just kidding.
Everyone knows those Venezuelans have COVID.
They wanted to come to Florida.
Therefore the COVID money was used to protect Florida. 
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there are elderly people, working people , who have lost everyhting…families with young children who do not have a place to live…and this guy gaves thousands of dollars to people who get paid over- time when they are out on ‘disaster relief’ missions… he is buying votes…nothing wrong with that, but at this time, there are Floridians who really need help…and our SENATOR RICK SOTT. , instead of being in Florida…is in GEORGIA, campaining for Herschel’ DAD of the Year’Walker,
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CHARLIE needs to get off his MR. NICE GUY act. VAL DEMMINGS has better ads,
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DeSantis?
Can someone just kidnap him from the Governor’s Mansion and fly him to Ellesmere Island?
It should be around the time for an outstanding view of the northern lights.
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don’t even get me started on that dumbass dr.ladopey.
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Both Democrats need to be the recipient of some powerfully charismatic national Dems to share the podium while on the stump.
To not do this is malpractice.
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Ironically enough, reactionaries are happy to spend federal money like there’s no tomorrow.
What they object to is taxing their masters to pay for all that spending.
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It was a multi million dollar political stunt, nothing more or nothing less.
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Senator Sott! Marvelous! Let’s drop one “T” and call him that from now on!
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I’m guessing this is another instance of DeSantis applying a Trump lesson, that’s there’s no risk to law-breaking that doesn’t have a penalty. We’re past the point where the use of money can be specified with the assumption that rule will be followed.
Better yet, Riker’s Island.
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Just used the interest off the money? Well that’s OK. The residents of Florida themselves probably don’t need any money right now anyway.
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If Brett Favre could pocket $1.2 million in COVID aid money, it’s hardly beyond imagining that DeSantis would steal it for a political stunt involving fraud, unlawful restraint, and interstate trafficking of migrants.
To some extent, this is on OMB, Treasury, and the IRS that they don’t track this well enough. Yes, I know that traditionally we have relied on states to disburse emergency aid money honestly, but Republican (mis)governed states these days are simply analogues of Hungary, which steals EU money and defies the rest of Europe.
Bottom line: Republicans cannot be trusted. EVER.
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If the state surgeon general was not properly using the allocated funds where had it been invested to be earning interest? [any kick backs involved?]
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Whatever it is they’re doing, they’re not our friends with the possible exception of three of them breaking from the pack.
DeSantis deserves a full investigation by the FBI and Treasury, with an eye on campaign money laundering and abuse of federal funds disbursed to the state of Florida, etc.
DeSantis should never be allowed to occupy a high national office. He’s not so much like Donald Trump as Viktor Orban, who actually has reformatted the system to give him the outcomes he desires and indulge his corrupt pursuits as he pleases.
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I agree. This is just another bit of proof that Ron the Con DeSantis is proving that he is a mini-me Trump without the white trash charisma. The Treasury should investigate and refer the whole business to the DoJ for criminal investigation.
WRT the Hurricane Ian clean-up funding, while I am sympathetic to the folks who lost almost everything, this whole mess was entirely foreseeable. We should not inadvertently create a moral hazard whereby the entire country bails out FLA every time a hurricane comes through.
Global warming is bringing about a new class of “super storms” which not only pack high winds and rain but are as big as the entire state of FLA and can create storm surges of 10’ to 15’ and thereby are just not survivable.
Fiscal responsibility and public safety requires a hard look at areas susceptible to these storms and limits on how much we really want to spend to put unsuspecting people in harm’s way.
Places like Cape Coral should not have been allowed to issue occupancy permits in Mangrove swamps. The Feds should consider adaptation guidelines which “redline” such areas for use of federal funds for reconstruction, to allow the Mangroves to re-generate. Restoration of wetlands and Mangrove swamps can help protect housing businesses and infrastructure located further inland (10 miles +).
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Moral hazard in the US housing market created the global financial crisis in 2008. Disaster relief poses a similar opportunity of moral hazard if it encourages private insurers, developers, banks, investors and state officials to pursue perverse objectives. A good example is the inappropriate levels and coverage of disaster insurance in Ft. Meyers. From a 2019 paper.
“exactly contrary to the objectives of public policy, current programs of disaster aid in the presence of moral hazard create incentives for households to minimize, rather than maximize, market coverage of their exposure to disaster risk.”