Sen. Graham Voted No On Hurricane Sandy Aid For NJ; Now Asking For Aid For S.C.

By Lina Bryce

Sen. Lindsey Graham is seeking federal aid for his home state of S.C. after having voted no when New Jersey asked for aid following Hurricane Sandy.

“Let’s just get through this thing, and whatever it costs, it costs,” Graham told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room on Monday.

Graham was among the Republican senators who opposed a federal aid package in January 2013 to assist states hit by Hurricane Sandy, but can no longer remember why.

“I’m all for helping the people in New Jersey. I don’t really remember me voting that way,” Graham said. “Anyway, I don’t recall that, but I’d be glad to look and tell you why I did vote no, if I did.”.

Graham said he tends to “try to be there for friends and neighbors, so hope they’ll be there for us.”

Many Republicans who voted no on the proposed $51 billion Sandy relief package in 2013, opposed it because of the superfluous spending included in the bill that were unrelated programs to the disaster, and not because they opposed aid.