Following FEMA's denial of Florida's request for emergency funds to help rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Ian, Ron DeSantis announced that the state will provide up to $25 million for emergency relief, according to Florida's Voice.
"Unfortunately, we got word last week that FEMA had denied our request for funding our state-led housing initiatives, citing their quote 'limited authority,'" DeSantis said during an announcement in Southwest Florida, the region where Hurricane Ian made landfall.
"We're not just gonna sit there and take no for an answer," he said, "we're gonna figure out what we can do."
"We wanna cut through bureaucracy," he continued, "we wanna bring relief to impacted Floridians, regardless of whether FEMA wants to be a part of that."
FEMA responded to DeSantis' request in a December 2 letter, saying "Due to the limited authorities FEMA has to approve and pay for this type of work, as well as our inability to confirm that authorizing this policy expansion would achieve the intended outcomes for disaster survivors, your request is denied."
DeSantis said that $25 million provided through state funds would be used to purchase building materials, which would then be provided to "verified nonprofit organizations to restore damaged homes to livable conditions."
