Gov. Ron DeSantis marked the near-three-year anniversary of Hurricane Michael by announcing a $3.1 million infusion of Federal Emergency Management Agency grants for governments within the disaster zone.
The governor also took a few moments to indulge nostalgia for the Donald Trump presidency, when he enjoyed a close connection to the White House, and to criticize the Joe Biden presidency, which he implied is hostile to Florida.
“We’ve been fortunate from the time I came into office in 2019 to have two years of really great support from the federal government,” DeSantis said during a news conference Friday in Bay County.
“If that storm happened today, I can’t guarantee we’d get quite the same amount of support, but, you know, who knows?” DeSantis said.
He didn’t take questions from reporters.
Biden did travel to Florida in July to console family members of the Surfside condo collapse and pledge full federal support for the recovery. “Tell me what you need,” he told state and local officials at the time, including DeSantis.
Michael made landfall near Tyndall Air Force Base on Oct. 10, 2018, as a Category 5 hurricane, having swiftly gained in power; as of Oct. 8, its winds had been clocked at 60 miles per hour but, by the time it hit the Florida coast, they’d increased to 160 miles per hour.
It was the first storm of that strength to strike Florida since Hurricane Andrew destroyed Homestead in 1992 and the first to hit the Panhandle. Michael killed 16 people and inflicted $25 billion in damage within the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Recovery expenses have reached $1 billion within Florida thus far, not counting insurance payouts, according to the governor’s office.
The latest infusion of federal assistance amounts to $3.1 million, with the state paying local governments’ 25 percent match, and is intended to mitigate against damage from future disasters, DeSantis said during his news conference.
Twelve individual awards include more than $1.1 million to help Bay County bury an exposed water line to protect supplies of potable water; $563,000 to construct a safe room to protect inmates and staff at the Bay County Jail; and $239,000 for generators to keep water and wastewater systems operating in case of power cuts in Chattahoochee.
DeSantis noted that his first official trip after assuming office was to Mexico Beach to survey storm damage.
He recalled also traveling to the White House to ask Trump to cover 100 percent of recovery costs. He convinced the president but acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney was leery of the expense and asked DeSantis to hold off on the announcement for 24 hours while aides figured out what it would cost — and maybe changed Trump’s mind.
Having heard nothing after 24 hours, DeSantis made the announcement.
“The president, incidentally, was very happy. Mick was not as happy,” the governor said.
Regarding the Biden administration, DeSantis complained the new president isn’t doing enough about lowering rising prices for gas, building supplies, and other necessities. Inflation threatens Florida’s recovery from the pandemic slowdown, he argued.
“Why are we not doing energy resources that we have? We should be doing the pipeline; we should be doing this stuff in ANWR and other things so that we’re energy independent,” he said.
The governor may have referred to Biden’s blocking of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and suspension of drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
–Michael Moline, The Florida Phoenix
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Ray W. says
According to a July 18th agreement, OPEC member nations agreed to monthly increases in crude oil production of 400,000 barrels per day, meaning that the production cut imposed by OPEC in February will be ended in the third quarter of 2022. OPEC member nations voted in February to cut crude oil production by six million barrels per day and Saudi Arabia cut their own production by an extra one million barrels per day, arguably in order to increase crude oil prices. Higher crude oil prices mean more money for each country’s treasury. In February, US crude oil daily production averaged 9,773,000 barrels per day. In July, the latest EIA figures reflect US crude oil daily production increasing to an average of 11,307,000 barrels per day. Yes, 1.5 million more barrels of crude oil per day helps, but it doesn’t offset an international production cut of 7 million barrels per day. Higher prices for crude oil means American oil producers will pump more crude oil. If oil prices remain high for a significant period of time, American energy companies will hire drilling companies to create new oil wells. Supply and demand is what it is, after all. We now know that there will be an artificial international crude oil shortage for the next year.
DeSantis is intentionally misleading certain more gullible members of the Florida public on this issue. He knows that the OPEC decision to cut crude oil production is responsible for the current high gasoline prices, yet he blames the Biden administration. Crude oil is an international commodity. When prices rise, every oil producing country makes more money. OPEC simply decided to manipulate the market for member gain.
It won’t be long before the more gullible commenters who are sympathetic to the Big Lie begin posting anti-Biden comments on FlaglerLive. To other readers, please consider this scenario. Texas regulatory agencies failed to require electrical energy producers to sufficiently insulate the grid. The big freeze damaged virtually all of the state’s electrical grid, shutting down Texas’ gasoline-producing refineries. Gasoline prices rose and the gullible began blaming Biden for Texas’ incompetence. OPEC nations saw a window of opportunity to vote as a bloc to cut crude oil production so that gasoline prices would remain high, bringing more money into OPEC’s pockets. Did OPEC know that the gullible would blame Biden instead of OPEC?
Ray W. says
As an update, the Wall Street Journal reported today that investors in American energy companies are pressuring them not to drill new wells, in order to create higher returns on the rising crude oil prices.
Perhaps this can be viewed as an externality to OPEC’s decision to cut crude oil production to pad the bloc’s treasury. The gullible will continue to blame Biden for the desire of nations and individual investors to manipulate the crude oil market for financial gain.
John Stove says
Deathsantis is a walking-talking “alternative facts” machine…..I dont believe or trust anything he says or “implies”. Why did he stop the daily reporting of the Covid cases and deaths?…..or yeah because just like Trumpo he thinks he can continously bulls**t the people and we wont figure it out.
He should spend more time doing what he was elected to do , instead of making Fauci t-shirts or taking money away from school districts who are trying to protect children.
What a tool
The dude says
I don’t understand these comments. What has the President done to make DeathSantis think he would govern like that other guy?
Has President Biden threatened to withhold aid because the governor said “nasty” things about him? What did I miss?
I’m fairly certain that if a major storm hit Florida, President Biden would, at the very least, come down and fling rolls of paper towels at victims… probably more.
Palm Coast Resident says
There are people all across the state of Florida who are displaced due to the state’s implementation of the HUD funded CDBG-DR program, known state-wide as Rebuild Florida, for recovery of Hurricane Irma, which hit the state in September 2017.
There are people in Flagler County living in sheds and cars, and families living in crowded living situations because of the rollout of this program, which set to repair or replace older mobile homes which sustained significant damages after Hurricane Irma. Families have been asked to leave their homes, halt any additional repairs, and are now waiting months to over a year for the completion of their homes.
One cannot blame President Biden or even President Trump for impact this program has had, particularly on low income seniors living throughout Florida (and yes, here in Flagler County) who have been physically displaced for tragically long periods of time.
Anthony says
DeathSantis needs to clean up the dirt in his own closet and stopped insulting President Biden just because he is a puppet for Trump and isn’t major enough to stand on his own, he mimics everything Trump says and does and it is pathetic. DeathSantis how about growing up and start acting like an adult.
flatsflyer says
DeathDeSantis, has proven himself to be a lying idiot just like Trump. I sincerely hope he gets the Virus and dies a long and painful death.
Jackson1955 says
DeSantis is doing what loyal Trump cult minions are expected to do. Florida elected this clown, they deserve what they are getting.