Governor Rick Scott met with more than a hundred members of Florida National Guard in Sarasota on Tuesday before they deploy to Washington D.C.
The occasion was a reminder of the battle against terrorism being fought in our own backyard. The governor referenced the June 12 terrorist attack in Orlando frequently during his remarks.
- FL Gov. requested $5 mil. in emergency funding after Pulse
- FEMA denied the request, citing precedence
- Governor plans to appeal the decision
"It brings it home that we've got to focus on how we defend freedom, destroy ISIS, how we make sure that doesn’t happen again," said Governor Scott.
Governor Rick Scott requested $5 million in emergency disaster funding from FEMA -- but got denied.
"Personally, I’m shocked,” said Scott. “If you look at the fact of the things they have approved in the past, when you look at that, it makes no sense to me why they wouldn't approve this.”
FEMA administrator Craig Fugate stated in a public letter to the governor:
Because your request did not demonstrate how the emergency response associated with this situation is beyond the capability of the state and affected local governments or identify any direct federal assistance needed to save lives or protect property, an emergency declaration is not appropriate for this incident.
“We’ll clearly appeal it and it’s wrong,” added Scott.
According to FEMA, no governors from the mass shootings sites of Virginia Tech, San Bernardino or Newtown requested an emergency declaration from the federal government.
But the governor isn't giving up. He has 30 days to appeal the decision.