TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida's governor thinks the state's share of President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan is unfair.
Tuesday morning, the Republican doubled down on his criticism of therecently passed$1.2 trillion policy -- which is set to provide the state with billions in aid.
After calling the federal legislation "pork-barrel spending" on Monday, DeSantis questioned whether Florida's $19.1 billion was fair compared to other states like New York ($26.9 billion) and New Jersey ($13.5 billion).
He had made similar attacks on COVID-19 relief dollars, saying the state was "punished" for having lower jobless numbers. That's despite federal funds helping bolster Florida's current budget with an extra $10 billion.
"Is Florida being treated well in this?" DeSantis said while speaking at a news conference in Spring Hill. "Or, are they basically funneling money to a bunch of very, very high tax and dysfunctional states?"
The White House has pushed back on DeSantis' comments. Officials said, like COVID-19, infrastructure funds are divided based on need.
"We promised to do a bipartisan infrastructure bill, and we got it done," said Gina McCarthy, White House National Climate Adviser. "This is a significant amount of money. You might want to barter or argue about how it's allocated, but it's going to make a huge difference in every state and every community."
Florida's biggest allotments:
- $1.2 billion for airports
- $1.6 billion on clean water
- $2.6 billion for public transportation
- $13.1 billion for roads
Biden has yet to sign the policy. White House officials said earlier this week it would likely happen when Congress returns next week.
