According to a recently released report by the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida received the third least amount of aid per capita from the federal government in 2010.
Nevada and Virginia were the only other states to be granted less money than Florida.
The report, Federal Aid to States for Fiscal Year 2010 (.pdf), compiled the amount of money that each state received for agriculture, education, health, and human services, housing and urban development, transportation, and other agencies.
Florida was part of a handful of states that received significantly less money than other states for a number of programs. In particular, Florida received very little from the federal government for agriculture, housing and urban development, and transportation programs.
State policy-makers in Florida have been antagonistic toward federal grants. Gov. Rick Scott and the state Legislature have expressed distaste for accepting some federal money, and have even turned away millions of dollars that were already awarded to the state โ notably for health programs and transportation.
Already, state policy-makers are saying they may eschew possible federal funds that could be set aside to help the state tackle its persistent unemployment problem.