Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott slammed President Barack Obama, and said the federal government needed to “step up to the plate” when it came to funding for ports in Florida.
Scott made his remarks before Obama visited Florida on Friday to ask Congress for $21 billion in infrastructure funding that Obama claimed would not go to pork barrel projects. The White House told the Palm Beach Post that they have approved loans for various projects dealing with ports in Florida.
The Florida governor, though, said Obama was “late to the party on Florida port investments” and said Florida had to spend “$425 million on ports since Scott took office, including fronting the federal share of $75 million for the Port of Miami and $36 million for the Port of Jacksonville.” Scott said the bureaucratic red tape prevented the federal government from being efficient–and timely–when it came to port funding.
“We could not wait for the federal government to come to the table with their share of the project,” Scottsaid. “The federal government, they keep raising regulations. Permitting time takes longer, raising taxes, spending all these things. We’ve done way better than they have.”
Scott said the Obama administration “ought to reimburse us the money we’re spending on our ports.”
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