Bloomberg News reports:
Florida Republican Governor and 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis quietly rejected hundreds of millions of dollars in federal energy funding, as the Biden administration touts the benefits of its marquee climate law on the campaign trail in battleground states.
The funding, totaling about $377 million, included hundreds of millions of dollars for energy-efficiency rebates and electrification as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as money from the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that became law in 2021.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’s Office of Energy notified the Energy Department last month it was “respectfully” withdrawing applications for the funds after DeSantis issued a line-item veto for a $5 million federal grant for the state to set up programs to distribute the rebates.
Read the full article. According to a green energy group, the rebates would have meant people in Florida would get “lower utility bills and healthier and more comfortable homes as well as lower greenhouse gas emissions.” Meanwhile, DeSantis has proposed millions in tax credits for people who buy gas stoves.
Ron DeSantis has quietly rejected hundreds of millions of dollars in federal energy funding https://t.co/Xlm7tHGFxr
— Bloomberg (@business) July 11, 2023