Shameful…yet this administration knows no shame. Reprehensible….
FEMA denies request for emergency declaration following Pulse shooting
OrlandoSentinel: A request to the federal government to declare an emergency for the state of Florida following the Pulse nightclub shooting was denied today, according to statement from Gov. Rick Scott‘s office.
“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… your request for an emergency declaration is denied,” W. Craig Fugate, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said in a letter to Scott.
On Twitter, Scott called the denial “disappointing” and “unthinkable.”
If grated, the formal declaration of emergency would have made available $5 million in federal funding.
Scott said the money would have been used to cover the expense of provisions for health and safety measures and managing, controlling and reducing the immediate threat to public health and safety.
“It is incredibly disappointing that the Obama Administration denied our request for an Emergency Declaration,” Scott said on Twitter. “It is unthinkable that (the president) does not define the Orlando terror attack, the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, as an emergency.
“We’re committing every state resource possible to help the victims and the community heal and we expect the same from the federal government.”
Scott’s office has 30 days to appeal the denial.
Despite the denial, the federal government will allocate $253,000 to pay for overtime for the first responders who assisted the victims of the Pulse shooting, Scott’s office said.
