Big talk, no action: Florida Gov. Jeb “Fat Little Bro” Bush came right out and said that the Federal Emergency Management Administration should not reimburse Floridians who bought generators or chain saws due to the hurricanes for more than they paid. But he said he won’t work toward changing the Florida law that allows over-repayment.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel found a whole slew of overpayments by FEMA, mainly to middle- and upper-class white folks — people who could probably afford to buy their own hurricane equipment without the reimbursement.
“I don’t think they (FEMA) should be reimbursing for more than what people pay for,” Bush said. “We appreciate the individual assistance that a lot of people are taking advantage of. But this shouldn’t be a boondoggle.”
But Jebby would not promise to seek to change or even ask legislators or federal officials to revamp Florida’s policies.
According to the Sun-Sentinel investigation:
FEMA leaves it up to states to choose what will be reimbursed in each disaster. States can elect to exclude certain items or limit eligibility, for instance, reimbursing for generators only for the medically needy, for instance. Other states have imposed limits, but Florida policy remains one of the most generous of the hurricane-vulnerable states.
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