SC Governor Finally Accepts Stimulus Funds, but with Caveats

[MadBadger]

South Carolina's Republican governor will break his political logjam with the White House over stimulus funds today, his aides said, becoming the last governor in the nation to officially seek billions of dollars in federal economic recovery funds.

Gov. Mark Sanford will announce at a 1 p.m. news conference that he will comply with today's critical deadline for governors to claim the money allocated by Congress and President Obama in the $787 billion stimulus bill, Sanford's spokesman Joel Sawyer said. South Carolina, whose 11 percent unemployment rate is the nation's highest outside of Michigan, is poised to receive about $8 billion in recovery funds.

Sanford -- who harbors national political ambitions and has been one of the most outspoken critics of Obama's recovery plan -- said last month that he would not seek certification because he did not believe the nation should go into debt to fund such stimulus efforts.

Despite his reversal, Sanford will not draw down $700 million in stabilization funds for education and law enforcement until he reaches a deal with South Carolina's GOP-controlled legislature to help pay off the state government's debt, Sawyer said.

MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301776.html?hpid=topnews