State officials fired back Wednesday afternoon at U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's claims that -- under the stewardship of Gov. Rick Scott -- they are mismanaging about $1 billion of federal money earmarked to help Floridians pay their mortgages.
Money given to Florida for mortgage assistance as part of the federal Hardest Hit Program is just sitting around, Nelson said during a morning press conference -- when all the while struggling homeowners across Florida are waiting for it.
Hardest Hit cash is available to people who either lost a job or were underemployed.
State officials claimed Nelson's potshot was completely bogus, that the Scott administration is working "tirelessly" to distribute the money.
Florida Housing Finance Corp. Executive Director Steve Auger also denied one newspaper's report that no assistance was provided to homeowners who were ineligible. "Our staff is working tirelessly to put this federal assistance into the hands of homeowners who qualify for and need it," Auger wrote in a letter to Nelson, which the governor's office released.
Earlier in the day Nelson told reporters that Floridas Hardest Hit Fund has only distributed 16 percent of the $1 billion since the program was created three years ago.
Now Nelson said he is asking President Obamas inspector general to investigate why Florida has been so slow to distribute the cash, and why some of the money has gone to ineligible applicants, including tax deadbeats and people with fraud convictions.
I have asked the inspector general of TARP to do an investigation in their ongoing audit as to why the state of Florida was so slow and has mismanaged the program, Nelson said.
The Hardest Hit Fund was set up with more than $7 billion to help homeowners in 18 states and the District of Columbia.
Florida received more than $1 billion -- second largest amount of any state.
Nelson says other states have already disbursed much of that money. For example, he says Michigan has distributed 75 percent of its share and helped thousands more homeowners than Florida.
According to Auger, the Hardest Hit Program has undergone a number of reviews, two by the U.S. Department of Treasury, plus the state Office of the Auditor General and Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
"None of these reviews found that Florida Housing provided (Hardest Hit) assistance to homeowners who were ineligible to receive it using our federally approved eligibility criteria for the program, as was alleged in a recent news article The result of these audits affirm our thoughtful and deliberate approach to shaping our states HHF program to assist those homeowners who have the greatest chance of keeping and sustaining their homes."
Auger wrote that he expects all the funding to be properly expended by the Dec. 31, 2017, deadline.
Dave Heller is a Tallahassee freelance reporter/videographer.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
