Dec. 17--South Carolina will get some relief money for the October flood in the new federal budget that is expected to pass soon.
How much the state, which suffered an estimated $1.4 billion in damage from the storms, will receive is unclear.
Congress has set aside $300 million in aid for disasters in South Carolina, Texas and other states, according to the offices of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca, and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia.
Gov. Nikki Haley would need to submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on how the state would spend the money, congressional officials said. HUD would then decide how much of the $300 million that South Carolina would receive.
The money could go toward helping South Carolinains with repairing or rebuilding their homes when their insurance money runs out.
Haley has asked for $140 million in federal aid to repair 2,600 homes owned by low- and moderate- income families.
But farmers want flood-releif money as well to cover their uninsured crop losses. Graham and U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, suggested in statements that Haley should aid farmers.
"I strongly support the ability of farmers to access disaster relief funds for non-covered losses," Graham said in a statement. "I believe farmers are critical to the sovereignty and security of our nation. They should at a minimum have the same access to relief funds as any other small business or homeowner."
The senator added: "Without their efforts and those of individual South Carolina farmers, we would not have even seen modest success in securing recovery funds."
Haley, a Lexington Republican, has rejected calls by farmers to help cover their losses, because she does not want to favor giving aid to one group of businesses over another.
Her office also said farmers get other federal aid for insurance premiums and deductibles.
S.C. farmers, most of whom were insured for about 70 percent of their crops loss, lost an estimated $376 million in the storm.
Parts of South Carolina were drenched with as much as two feet of rain in early October, flooding coastal areas and breaking more than 20 dams in the Midlands. Some areas around Columbia received a foot of rain in a single day -- more than the previous three months combined.
Residents and businesses in nearly half of the state's 46 counties were eligible to request assistance from the federal government.
But that aid sometimes does not cover losses for flood victims.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration can grant up to $33,000 per household. The Small Business Administration can issue low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and businesses.
More than 95,000 South Carolinians have sought federal aid from the storm.
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