Vermont lawmakers are coming to the defense of Governor Peter Shumlin's administration following criticisms by a candidate to unseat him that he misled the Legislature and the public about the amount of post-Irene disaster relief Vermont was likely to get.
Representative Alice Emmons, a Springfield Democrat and chairwoman of the House Institutions and Corrections Committee, says her panel purposely built a good deal of flexibility into this year's state construction budget because of uncertainty about funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
She says both Shumlin administration and FEMA officials were clear with lawmakers that it wouldn't be known for some time how much money Vermont would get.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock charged Wednesday that Shumlin and his aides gave lawmakers too optimistic a forecast about FEMA funding.
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