White House Releases South Carolina Briefing: About One Million Seniors Benefit From No Tax on Social Security, $200 Million for Rural Health
WASHINGTON — The White House on October 21 released a South Carolina briefing saying President Donald J. Trump returns to South Carolina today to highlight a record of results for workers, families, seniors and communities. The release lists figures on tax relief, rural health care, private investment, infrastructure and military investment, and public safety, saying South Carolinians are seeing historic tax relief, surging private investment and job creation, stronger rural health care, and major investments in infrastructure, military readiness and public safety.
On tax relief, the White House said the Working Families Tax Cuts benefit approximately one million South Carolina seniors through the new senior deduction, with the average senior expected to pay zero federal taxes on Social Security benefits, and that South Carolina taxpayers saw average refunds of $3,476 in 2026. It said the tax cuts safeguarded 86,000 South Carolina jobs, $15 billion in state GDP and $8 billion in workers' wages. On Opportunity Zones, Gov. Henry McMaster in September 2026 submitted the state's new Opportunity Zone nominations to the Treasury.
On rural health care, South Carolina secured $200 million in first-year funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program, and in September the state awarded $167.3 million in program grants to 228 rural providers for primary care, maternal care, pediatrics and behavioral health, through facility modernization, technology upgrades and workforce development.
On private investment, the White House listed 17 corporate investments: NorthMark Strategies committing $2.8 billion for a high-performance computing center in Spartanburg; Octapharma investing $1.5 billion for a critical care manufacturing facility in Rock Hill; Ferrara Candy Company investing $675 million for its first South Carolina operation in Orangeburg County; Okonite investing $400 million for a high-voltage cable plant in Orangeburg, creating 105 jobs; Eaton investing $340 million to expand transformer production in Jonesville; Scout Motors investing $300 million for a Supplier Park at its Blythewood Production Center, with seven suppliers investing more than $82 million across Spartanburg, Duncan and Piedmont; and Adeptus USA investing $215.6 million for its first state operation in Anderson County, creating 217 jobs. Other listed projects range from $5.3 million to $134 million in Hardeeville, Aiken County, Charleston County, Berkeley County, Sumter County, Rock Hill, Pickens County, Laurens County and Gaffney.
On communities, the administration in July 2026 awarded South Carolina a $23.5 million grant to replace 18 aging bridges across nine counties; the FY 2027 defense authorization authorized $161.7 million for a nuclear power training facility expansion at Joint Base Charleston and extended funding totaling $166.7 million for recruit barracks at Parris Island; in October 2026 President Trump approved raising the federal share of Hurricane Helene Public Assistance recovery costs from 75% to 90%; and in September 2026 the administration awarded nearly $10 million to eight South Carolina HBCUs, led by $2.4 million to South Carolina State.
On public safety, the White House said violent crime fell 11% and property crime fell 14% last year, including drops in murders (17%), robberies (19%), aggravated assaults (9%) and burglaries (15%), and that overall crime in Charleston plunged 36% in 2025. It said at least 72 law enforcement agencies in the state, including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, have signed 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Columbia 的 South Carolina State House（资料图）。照片：DXR，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / The South Carolina State House in Columbia (file photo). Photo: DXR, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
