SC House Wants to Use $173 Million from Feds to Shore Up Budget

Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- South Carolina lawmakers voted Monday to spend money that the state doesn't even have.

House members approved a plan to use nearly $200 million in federal money to eliminate funding cuts to the state's special needs agency and prescription drug programs. As of Monday, Congress had not approved the money for South Carolina and there's timetable on when the U.S. House and Senate would approve the measure.

"We're relying on a stimulus that hasn't passed. We are also turning around and making promses to people with disabilities and DJJ that this money is coming," said Rep. Nikki Haley (R-Lexington). "Is it right to understand they are goiing to be stuck with these cuts. We probably could priortize our spending right now, cuts right now, deal with the issue right now," Haley said.

Rep. Nathan Ballentine (R-Richland) says it is difficult for lawmakers to decide what to cut, because the budget has gone from $7 billion to $5 billion.

"This is one of the toughest budgets since I've been in office," he said. "Do you pick teachers against that of disabled children? Do you pick law enforcement over other needs?  And that's what this next week is going to be about."

With hundreds of pages to the budget, News19 asked the lawmakers if it was possible to know what was in the document.

"We can do a pretty good job of knowing what's in the budget.  Does anybody know where every dollar is other than staff?  Probably not," said Ott.

"Honestly not. There are members on Ways and Means that have been in all the budget meetings all year and they sometimes don't know all the details," Ballentine said.  "We do our best to go through as much as we can."

Budget talks are expect to go through on for several days.