House overrides farm aid veto

A state lawmaker from Greenville County defends the House of Representatives’ decision to override Governor Haley’s veto of a farm aid bill.  Rep. Phyllis Henderson says the bill is aimed at helping farmers overcome last October’s so-called 1,000 year flood.  Henderson quoted the governor as saying, “I will not support any bailout of any industry over any other industry that has suffered from this thousand year flood.” The governor said the new Farm Aid Board would offer taxpayer-backed grants not available to any other businesses damaged in the floods.  But Henderson says legislators don’t live in the Governor’s Mansion; we live among the people we serve. In my case, that’s a large rural district. The $40 million grant program isn’t a “bailout” as described by the governor; it is an essential helping hand for farmers across the state.  Henderson says family farms aren’t like other businesses; they are at the mercy of the vagaries of weather. They can’t insure their businesses like retail stores or manufacturing. $125 million in federal crop insurance payouts are not nearly enough to cover a more than $375 million statewide loss from the October rainfall. Many left their fall crops drowning in the fields. They couldn’t harvest and sell, so they didn’t have the money to purchase and plant winter or spring crops.