Florida's communities that were hit by Hurricane Ian almost two weeks ago will take years to recover, and they need Americans to remember them and continue to offer a helping hand, Rep. Scott Franklin told Newsmax on Saturday.
"When we help our friends and neighbors the most are in these times," the Florida Republican, who represents the state's 15th Congressional District, said on Newsmax's "The Count." "But with tornadoes or forest fires, whatever they may be, the media will move on to the next disaster next week."
The state also needs the push to continue to get the supplies and money to those who need help, said Franklin, adding that he does not think the meeting between President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the "clash of the titans" that members of the left-wing media had predicted.
"They were hoping to politicize it before the event even happened, and I don't think it went off that way," Franklin said. "I think, for the most part, you know, the president was here to recognize the struggle that Floridians are facing and, uh, you know, to see how the federal government can help out, which is what it should be doing at a time like this."
He added that DeSantis has done an "exceptional job" in responding to the hurricane emergency.
"We've been through these hurricanes before," he said. "The governor had a great plan of action, and I think he's he's risen to the occasion and provided leadership superbly. This is going to go on for a long time to come."
But still, it will take a long time for FEMA claims to clear out, said Franklin, pointing to Hurricane Charley in 2004, which had a similar path to Ian's but was a smaller storm.
"Those FEMA claims just got closed out in 2019 so it took 15 years," he said. "I think this is going to be many, many years, particularly for the coast to rebuild, but really what we need now is our government to function the way it should. There's not a lack of money … what we need is big government to get out of the way, cut through the bureaucracy, and get things done for people to get their lives back in order."
However, he pointed out that the continuing resolution last week, which many Republicans voted against, did not include money that had anything to do with the hurricane relief, but was in the bill well before Ian made landfall.
"That continuing resolution was poisoned with a lot of different things in there that just shouldn't have been and I think you know most Americans, regardless of political persuasion, are fed up with congress passing bills that include everyone else's pet projects."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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