Blog
Apr 07 2021
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the Biden Administration’s decision to resume support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“I am deeply troubled by recent decisions from the Biden Administration to turn a blind eye to behavior by the Palestinian Authority.
“In 2019, the Palestinian Authority provided $343 million to subsidize Pay to Slay attacks where terrorists and their families receive cash rewards for attacking Israelis and Americans. Instead of reforming and putting an end to these attacks, they have doubled down on their commitment to subsidizing terrorism.
“Despite this, the Biden Administration today announced it will resume support of the Palestinians by providing at least $150 million to UNRWA. When it comes to the Palestinians, UNRWA does little more than subsidize a corrupt regime and a status quo in the West Bank and in Jordan. UNRWA has been historically antagonistic to Israel and an impediment to peace.
“Additionally, recent decisions by the State Department to provide funding for projects in the West Bank come close to violating the provisions of the Taylor Force Act. As the author of the Taylor Force Act and the Ranking Member on the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I fully expect a complete honoring of the letter and intent of the law.
“A willingness to make concessions to the Palestinians without demanding anything in return is deeply troubling and should worry us all, particularly as the Biden Administration makes an effort to resume nuclear negotiations with the Iranians.”
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Apr 06 2021
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today spoke at a press conference with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to discuss the negative impact H.R. 1, the For the People Act, would have on South Carolina elections.
The legislation has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives and could soon be debated in the U.S. Senate. The far-reaching legislation would erode a South Carolina law requiring a photo ID to vote. It also calls for public funding for political campaigns for office.
- GRAHAM: “H.R. 1 is an attempt by the radical left to take over every election system in the country. H.R. 1 would be the federalization of elections for Congress. It would be in violation of the Constitution, in my view. The contents of this bill should scare everybody in South Carolina and throughout the nation who believe in robust voting but integrity at the ballot box.”
- McMASTER: “This bill, H.R. 1, threatens the constitutional sovereignty of the state of South Carolina. Those are not just words – that’s very important. This country, our state, is built on the sovereignty of the states. This bill takes that away.”
- GRAHAM: “[H.R.1] would take away from the states the ability to redistrict for congressional purposes. What does that mean to South Carolina? That's a disaster for us. We have seven members of Congress now because our population in South Carolina is growing. Every few years, you redistrict the House of Representatives based on population growth, or people moving out of the deep blue liberal states because of the taxes and crime. They're coming to Texas and South Carolina and Florida, and under the laws of the land today, you leave it up to the states, with court oversight, to draw the new congressional districts. This bill would eliminate that. They would create a federal panel to take away from South Carolina the ability to draw congressional lines. That’s a tremendous infringement on the ability of a state to run its election as envisioned by the Constitution.”
- McMASTER: “There’s no way to exaggerate the danger and the harm that these provisions if passed, will do to our state and our country. It is hard to believe. They will eliminate a requirement, any kind of ID requirement, other than saying that you are who you say you are, and you can register to vote on the same day as the election. It requires the states to have early voting.”
- GRAHAM: “[H.R. 1] will destroy ballot integrity. This will institutionalize techniques used by the left to expand the vote in a fashion where there will be no integrity in the vote. This is the biggest power grab in modern American history being pushed by the most radical people in modern American history to change the way we vote to destroy the integrity of the ballot box, and we will not stand for it in South Carolina.”
- GRAHAM: “Voting is a sacred right, but it is also a sacred process. I’d rather leave it up to the state of South Carolina. Why should [Congress] be mandating that? I mean, if it's working in a state and they like it, great…for me, I’d like people to get registered, make it easy to be registered, but be on the books. When you show up, they’ll see your name, you show an ID, and you vote.”
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