$1K Extra Stimulus Payment Sought For First Responders: DeSantis

FLORIDA — Noting the risk and extra stress first responders have dealt with during the year of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday said those Florida workers should receive an extra $1,000 stimulus payment from the federal COVID-19 relief bill.

“I’m proposing a one-time, $1,000 bonus payment to all first responders, firefighters, sworn law enforcement and EMTs, which totals about $208.4 million dollars,” he said at a news conference, as reported by WPLG.

On Tuesday, DeSantis sent a letter to Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson and Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Chris Sprowls that outlined how the state should use a portion of the federal money expected from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

The GOP governor recommended $208 million during the current fiscal year be used as directed payments to pandemic first responders. His recommendations totaled $4.1 billion.

DeSantis' full letter including all of his recommendations can be seen here.

As of Wednesday, the Florida Health Department reported 1,989,024 positive cases since last year; 82,786 hospitalizations; and 33,120 coronavirus-related deaths.

The news conference also saw DeSantis address accusations he benefited from a vaccine site for wealthy white residents.

A vaccination site held about a month ago generated a federal complaint that accused DeSantis of discriminatory and fraudulent practices in the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution at Lakewood Ranch, the Bradenton Herald reported.

According to the complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the site inappropriately gave a wealthy developer who contributes to the governor’s campaign limited access to the vaccine, the outlet reported. Matthew Issman, a retired law enforcement officer, filed the complaint Feb. 18.

Toward the end of Wednesday afternoon's news conference, a reporter asked DeSantis about his recent mention of a $106 million initiative that would make Florida the national leader in civics education.

DeSantis' responded, "I don't know if some of you guys have seen some of this critical race theory — it's basically teaching kids to hate our country, and to hate each other based on race. It puts race as the most important thing. I want content of character to be the most important thing. I want to treat people as individuals, and I want the history of our country taught accurately. ... When you start talking about these wacko theories, it's all designed to put a political agenda under the guise of history and civics."

Also See: DeSantis Accused Of Favoring Wealthy For COVID Vaccine Rollout

The Herald reported Monday texts obtained via public records request that highlight organizers’ intent in using the vaccination site to promote DeSantis ahead of a 2022 re-election campaign.

The texts revealed that Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa’s Baugh and Lakewood Ranch developer Rex Jensen, both who were on the VIP list for the vaccination site, hoped to use the event to bolster DeSantis’ image. In one exchange, Baugh noted that “...’22 is right around the corner.”

White people, 18,329, make up the majority of residents in the Lakewood Ranch (34202 zip code) area, and Black people make up 2.1 percent, according to United States Zip Codes.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday that the state is withholding detailed numbers from the federally supported sites that would show if vaccine locations are actually improving vaccination rates for Black residents. As of Sunday, Florida had vaccinated roughly 7.5 percent of its Black population statewide, compared to 18 percent of whites, according to a Miami Herald analysis of state figures and Census data.