Florida Opts out of Federal Foreclosure Relief Funds

Despite a Massive "Foreclosure Crisis" - Florida has elected to not take federal foreclosure funds to further fix the Foreclosure Situation

In a story that broke over the weekend, the state of Florida elected to not apply for federal foreclosure funds which could have seen an increase of $250m in Federal aid to help support programs like the hardest hit fund and potentially more expansive mediation programs. This decision was highly criticized, including by Senator Bill Nelson (a democrat). While Florida did receive some funding for further use, it failed to apply for funds that could have been over three times that amount!Apparently, this was an oversight by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, a group appointed by Governor Scott (a republican) that is charged  with distributing federal funds to aid ailing Florida homeowners. This bears importance as it has been noted that the governor has been reluctant to accept federal funds to aid Floridians. I won't comment on the obvious partisan politicking we are seeing with the parties here; but why is no one concerned with our neighbors and other families struggling to save their homes?While the blog here is not political, and not a news blog, this tactic begs a few questions - most notably, how is the state trying to really help homeowners save their home from foreclosure while not taking advantage of millions of dollars that are made available to only those states hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis?I am hopeful that this decision doesn't hurt foreclosure defendants or other homeowners - either in the State or Federal Foreclosure system - but I think it might. I've blogged here about my trials and triumphs defending foreclosure cases, and shared some insights on why I do what I do as a defense attorney -  but I am interested in hearing from the readers - do you think the state should have taken these funds or not?