South Carolina's Mark Sanford Accepts Stimulus Money, After All
Tom Diemer
Correspondent
Posted:
08/11/10
Early last year, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford turned up his nose at federal stimulus funds for his state, saying it would only add to the national debt. That was then. On Tuesday, the Labor Department said the state had gone through the approval process and would begin receiving $97.5 million to help out its strapped unemployment compensation fund.
It seems the once stubborn Sanford, staggered by an extramarital affair that threw him off message and effectively ruined his political career, quietly signed a bill two months ago that expanded eligibility for jobless benefits in South Carolina, opening the way for the federal money, the New York Times said.
The reversal made South Carolina the 32nd state to take such action, qualifying for a full share of stimulus dollars, according to the National Employment Law Project, a liberal advocacy group. It also marked a "dramatic shift" for Sanford, a conservative governor the Law Project said had once been a "leading opponent" of the federal program.
Sanford was only the latest to come on board for stimulus money, the Times said. Govs. Dave Heineman of Nebraska, Sonny Perdue of Georgia and Phil Bredesen of Tennessee also resisted taking the funds initially, but then thought better of it.
It seems the once stubborn Sanford, staggered by an extramarital affair that threw him off message and effectively ruined his political career, quietly signed a bill two months ago that expanded eligibility for jobless benefits in South Carolina, opening the way for the federal money, the New York Times said.
The reversal made South Carolina the 32nd state to take such action, qualifying for a full share of stimulus dollars, according to the National Employment Law Project, a liberal advocacy group. It also marked a "dramatic shift" for Sanford, a conservative governor the Law Project said had once been a "leading opponent" of the federal program.
Sanford was only the latest to come on board for stimulus money, the Times said. Govs. Dave Heineman of Nebraska, Sonny Perdue of Georgia and Phil Bredesen of Tennessee also resisted taking the funds initially, but then thought better of it.