Latest news with #CarbonReduction
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Most of $878M Florida Gov. DeSantis ‘returned' to feds was for refugee services: letter
On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was returning $878.1 million in federal money back to the federal government – but more than half of that is coming from a program for refugee social services. Moreover, the $557.7 million DeSantis is 'returning' is simply the amount authorized by the federal government for Florida to spend on the Refugee Resettlement Program. The program aids the transition of refugees fleeing war and oppressive regimes across the globe into U.S. society, offering an array of services, including English language courses and help getting medical care. The refugee program is entirely funded by the federal government but administered by the states. President Donald Trump shut down the program by executive order shortly after taking office, but a federal court judge overturned that move in February. Three years ago, DeSantis' administration was asking for more money for the program. In 2022 it asked a legislative panel for $270 million for the refugee program, including $33.4 million to address a backlog of 51,000 refugees waiting on health assessments and immunizations. "Without additional budget authority, clients would not receive services within their eight-month eligibility period. Further, clients with undiagnosed communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections, would not be diagnosed and treated, and could put the health of all Floridians at risk from the spread of communicable diseases," the budget request stated. In making his announcement Friday, DeSantis didn't mention the refugee program funds or the $320.4 million in federal funds for the Florida Department of Transportation for a 'Carbon Reduction' program pushed under Trump's predecessor in the Oval Office, Joe Biden. DeSantis only posted the first paragraph of a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department, noting the total $878.1 million being 'returned,' on the social media site X. 'For years, Florida has been trying to return federal funds to the federal government due to the ideological strings attached by the Biden Administration – but they couldn't even figure out how to accept it,' DeSantis stated in his X post. 'Today, I met with (Elon Musk) and the DOGE team, and we got this done in the same day. Other states should follow Florida in supporting DOGE's efforts!' DOGE stands for Department of Government Efficiency, set up by Trump upon taking office to root out fraud and abuse in federal spending. Musk, the tech titan who owns Tesla, SpaceX and X, formerly known as Twitter, is the de facto head of that effort, but Trump's administration has claimed in court that Amy Gleason is its acting administrator. DeSantis met with Musk earlier on Friday. A request for comment was pending with a DeSantis spokesman as of late Monday. The rest of the letter – made public by Forrest Saunders, Capital Bureau reporter for Scripps television in Florida – provides more information on the FDOT and refugee funding. For the FDOT funding, less than $50 million had been received by the agency and is being returned to the federal government, DeSantis' letter states. The remaining $271 million is simply budget authority the federal government had approved for Florida but hadn't yet given to the Sunshine State. DeSantis' administration had already decided to reject those funds in December 2023, but hadn't been able to get the federal government to accept that decision. 'Of the $320,386,861 in 'Carbon Reduction' funding, $49,249,017 will be returned today via wire transfer. An additional $271,137,844 in allocated authority, not yet reimbursed to the state, should be withheld from future disbursement to the state and is hereby returned to the federal government,' the letter says. 'The state is formally requesting a confirmation by USDOT of this action.' The letter makes the same request for confirmation of the rejected budget authority for the $557.7 million for the refugee program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rejecting the federal money is a turn from DeSantis' previous position on the topic. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, DeSantis' predecessor as Florida governor, called on him and other governors to return federal funds for states as part of the COVID-19 relief funds in 2021. But DeSantis rejected that suggestion, saying it 'doesn't make sense' to return the federal largesse because Democratically-controlled states would simply take it and spend the funds, not saving federal taxpayers any money. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Of money Gov. DeSantis 'returned' to feds, most was for refugees
Muscat Daily
11-02-2025
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
MTCIT wins award for dual-combustion truck
Muscat – Oman has been recognised with the Excellence and Creativity Award for its 'Dual Combustion Truck for Carbon Reduction' project at the 26th Gulf Engineering Forum, held in Bahrain under the theme 'Challenges of Energy Transformation'. The award-winning project, developed by Blue Ice Oman – a company providing turnkey hydrogen solutions, focuses on reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable mobility. The dual-combustion technology integrates hydrogen and diesel fuel in truck engines, effectively cutting emissions by 50%. This initiative is part of Oman's broader net-zero strategy, which targets zero emissions by 2050. Eng Abdullah Ali al Busaidi, Director General of Oman Logistics Centre at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), said, 'This award reflects the ministry's ongoing efforts to achieve the goals of the net-zero programme and reduce carbon emissions.' He highlighted the ministry's collaboration with the private sector to develop advanced combustion technologies. 'We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by promoting electric vehicles, environmentally friendly trucks, biofuels, hydrogen, and sustainable public transportation,' he added. The Gulf Engineering Forum, running until February 13, has brought together experts, researchers, and academics from the fields of energy, environment, and industry to address challenges in energy transformation. The forum features workshops and discussions on renewable energy, decarbonisation, clean energy technologies, and innovative solutions for reducing emissions.
