Scott Cuts More From Higher Education And Health Care
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Being a former health care executive, and wanting to bring more jobs to the state, would make one think Governor Rick Scott would champion higher education and health care.
But based on his line-item vetoes, those are near the bottom of his priorities list.
Scott signed the $61 billion budget into law Thursday, but that was not before he gutted education further and slashed an additional $615 million from the budget.
One of the main targets in Scott's line-item vetoes was higher education. He pulled more than $10 million from Miami-Dade College's remodeling and renovation budget. Scott also slashed $2.5 million from the South Florida Community College's fire fighting program.
Florida Atlantic lost $3.25 million for infrastructure improvements, while Florida International University's Satellite Chiller Plant Expansion lost $6 million.
But his cut at the University of Miami might be the toughest to justify. Scott cuts $1.21 million from cancer research at the University of Miami. He also cut $10,000 from the Institute for Cuban American Studies.
Mount Sinai Medical Center lost a total of $5 million in the upcoming budget and the Dan Marino Foundation Vocational School lost $500,000.
Scott pulled $777,169 in funds from the University of Miami's Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis Project. Another $500,000 was pulled from the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
He yanked $50,000 from the Cuban American Bar Association's pro bono project while also cutting $250,000 to Goodwill Industries of South Florida. Scott also cut $11.1 million dollars in state payments to Expressway Authorities.
All total, Scott cut $615,347,550 from the 2011 state budget.
