David Harvin spent Monday morning bent over in a chair, waiting to hear his name called. He was one of many hoping to receive their unemployment benefits at the S.C. Employment Security Commission's Orangeburg office.

Harvin wondered if it was a waste of time because Gov. Mark Sanford hasn't yet applied for the $146 million federal loan needed to keep the state's unemployment fund solvent.

Without the loan, the state will be forced to stop paying out unemployment benefits on Thursday.

"What's the point of coming if they don't have the money?" Harvin said.

He was recently laid off from Husqvarna Outdoor Products Inc. Times have been tough for Harvin since then.

Harvin says he hasn't received any unemployment benefits thus far and the bills are piling up. But he said the uncertainty of the situation makes matters much worse.

"I don't know what's going to happen from today 'til tomorrow," he said.

The heart of the problem lies in Sanford's displeasure with the management of the S.C. Employment Security Commission. He won't sign off on the loan until the SCESC submits to an independent audit and pledges to share its data with the S.C. Department of Commerce.

The two sides had not reached an agreement Monday afternoon, according to Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer.

Sawyer added Sanford is standing up for the unemployed by demanding the SCESC operate more efficiently.

He said the shortfall in the state's unemployment fund was due to lawmakers not addressing the issue.

State Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Denmark, represents an area plagued with unemployment and poverty. He said it is an absurd time to play politics with people's lives.

"It's an abuse of his leadership," Sellers said of Sanford.

He said some people seeking unemployment benefits are hard-working state or corporate employees who have been laid off due to the economy.

State Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, said the governor's position, "absolutely does not make any kind of sense."

Govan said the state's financial woes make Sanford's position curious.

"When people don't have jobs, they can't pay mortgages, car notes or loans. And they are definitely not paying taxes," he said.

In November, Orangeburg County's unemployment rate was the ninth highest in the state at 12.6 percent.

Bowman resident Beverly Jones said suspending unemployment benefits would be a disaster. Jones is currently out of work and her husband, LeRoy, collects disability.

The situation has Jones feeling like her back is against the wall.

"If I lose unemployment, I'm going to be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do," she said.

Robert Moore of Santee firmly believes criminal activity will balloon if the state ceases unemployment assistance.

He questioned how Sanford can sleep at night while others are on unstable financial ground.

"One man can destroy everything. ... I'm just hoping things will change in the next couple of days," he said.

Sawyer said nobody wants the benefits to be suspended. He declined to say what would happen if an agreement is not reached by Wednesday.

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it," he said.

T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060.

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