UPDATED: Four SC GOP House Members Vote Against Sandy Relief Bill

Video of Rep. Trey Gowdy discussing his vote against the bill has been embedded to this story.     

                                                                --------------------

On Thursday the US House of Representatives passed a $9.7 billion Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill by a margin of 354 to 67. The bill is intended for flood insurance programs.

Four of South Carolina's Republican members of the House--Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, Mick Mulvaney and Joe Wilson--voted against the measure.

Tom Rice, of the newly created 7th District, voted in favor of it. Democrat Jim Clyburn did not cast a vote.

The delay in passing the bill caused controversy in the Republican Party. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie blasted House Republicans for playing politics with people's lives. Rep. Peter King of New York encouraged his constituents to stop donating money to the GOP for its failure to act.

When Hurricane Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989, then-president George H.W. Bush signed a bill for more than a billion dollars in relief, $200 million of which went to South Carolina.

A larger bill, estimated to be $51 billion, is scheduled to be voted upon before Jan. 15. That bill would provide assistance to individuals, small businesses and municipalities. As many as 500,000 homes in New Jersey and New York were destroyed or damaged due to the Hurricane. 131 people were killed and more than $60 billion in damage occurred.

Keep up with all of Patch's coverage of South Carolina politics by following us on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.