Rick Scott's Team Hits Bill Nelson on Sequestration's Impact on Hurricane Preparedness

Gov. Rick Scott and his administration continued to engage with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fl, over sequestration and the National Guard on Wednesday. Nelson and Scott had sparred over the issue, especially in regards to hurricane preparedness, last week and earlier this week.

Bryan Koon, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, wrote Nelson on Wednesday and, in the latest round, pointed the finger at the Obama administration.

I am writing in response to your June 7th letter to the governors request that you work with the relevant federal agencies to allow the Florida National Guard to mitigate the impacts of the federal budget sequestration by making budget reductions that do not impact storm response capabilities, Koon wrote. With only a few days into the storm season this year, Tropical Storm Andrea has already impacted Florida communities, which further underscores the importance of providing our men and women with the support they need to protect families.

Unfortunately, under the current budget sequestration that was crafted by the administration, our Guard leadership continues to lack the flexibility needed to function properly in times of crisis, Koon continued. In your letter, it says you worked with FEMA and/or the administration to make the case on why your federal office does not need to address the federally forced furloughing of Florida guardsmen or technicians. Our staff at the Division of Emergency Management, however, has reviewed the claim that the states costs, including the costs to recall any furloughed guardsmen, will be fully reimbursable by FEMA, and it runs counter to historical examples.

First, there has to be a presidential declaration before FEMA can even start to reimburse Florida taxpayers for any funds expended. Often states have to begin to deploy and preposition assets in the run up to a storm, well before a presidential disaster declaration is issued, Koon wrote. Secondly, as you know from your years in Washington, rarely do states receive 100 percent reimbursement. At best, Florida families could expect to pay for 25 percent of the bill in accordance with federal disaster cost-share formulas. In fact, despite Hurricane Andrews devastation in 1992, the state of Florida just finalized payments last year and FEMA was still requesting pay backs from the Florida National Guard.

Third, theres a strong possibility that the federal government would not agree to pay Florida taxpayers for the additional two days guardsmen will have to activate in order to address the bottle neck of work resulting from furloughs. This concern is based, again, on the fact that our state must preposition and deploy assets well before a storm makes landfall, Koon wrote in conclusion. To summarize, the claim that the federal government will cover the increased costs associated with sequestration would set precedent, and most likely would not occur. Again, I stress the governors offer to provide you counsel from our state budget experts who continue work on avenues that will provide savings to the federal government without jeopardizing public safety.

With Nelsons name remaining in the mix as a possible opponent for Scott in 2014, both sides continue to raise the stakes. Melissa Sellers, a spokeswoman for Scott, threw a jab at Nelson on Wednesday.

It's unfortunate that Senator Nelson refuses to take any action to fix the National Guard furloughs, which pose the same public safety risk as the FAA furloughs he asked the Obama administration to stop a few weeks ago, Sellers said.