According to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, a combined $17.3 billion will go to Tallahassee and counties and cities from the COVID-19 relief bill. Final approval in the House will come this week.
DeSantis had complained about the allocation formula. It’s based on the rate of unemployment, not population. So New York will get the third-highest amount after California and Texas — $23.5 billion — even though Florida ranks third in population, ahead of New York.
That $17.3 billion, however, will be $17.3 billion more than Florida’s Republican senators wanted. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott voted against the bill.
Despite DeSantis’ boasts, Florida needs the money. According to a New York Times analysis, only four states saw a greater percentage drop in revenue than Florida between April and December of last year compared to the same period in 2019.
Scott never acknowledged how much the Obama stimulus helped when he became governor. DeSantis just slammed what he called Biden’s “pathetic failure of leadership” on reopening schools.
Biden’s COVID relief bill will bring $6 billion to Florida school districts. They will use that money to make campuses safe for teachers and students under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines — money that DeSantis didn’t provide as he badgered schools to reopen classrooms.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/fl-op-com-ss-prem-schultz-coronavirus-metrics-florida-20210309-acv65oatnndxfcoealc7ehqsc4-story.html
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