WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) spoke today about a possible infrastructure proposal while touring Mauldin Paving Products in Taylors, South Carolina.   

• GRAHAM: “We're not going to do $2 trillion, but I think we could find an $800 to $900 billion infrastructure package that’s tailored toward infrastructure. I’m all for high-speed internet, building that out, but this has got to be the meat and potatoes of infrastructure: roads, bridges, and ports, and that's what we're trying to push…that would jumpstart the economy and be a big benefit to these employees here in this business.”

• GRAHAM: “I am hopeful that we'll pass an infrastructure bill in the next 60 to 90 days. If it's going to pass, it’s going to be bipartisan, and if it doesn't pass, it'd be a great missed opportunity. There are enough Republicans willing to work with Democrats to get this done if President Biden will sit down and work through the details.”

• GRAHAM: “When I asked [Mauldin Paving Products] their biggest challenge, other than government regulation and international competition with China, it’s finding workers. And these are good-paying jobs – they need about half a dozen welders that will make over 20 bucks an hour, machine operators, they can make up to $28 an hour. It’s a very skilled labor force. Most people here have been training in our technical schools to learn a high-skilled trade. Everywhere I go in South Carolina, from restaurants to manufacturing, they have one common request: help us find more workers.”

WSPA

Fox Carolina

 

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