Blog
Jul 23 2007
Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today announced South Carolina will receive more than $11 million for homeland security initiatives throughout the state.
South Carolina will receive:
- $6,130,000 from the State Homeland Security Program. These funds build capabilities at the state and local level through planning, equipment, training, and exercise activities. Funds may also be used to support the implementation of state homeland security strategies and key elements of the national preparedness architecture.
- $4,380,000 from the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program. These funds support law enforcement and public safety activities to prevent terrorist attacks, such as establishing and enhancing fusion centers and collaborating with non-law enforcement partners.
- $258,145 from the Metropolitan Medical Response System. These funds support planning and preparation activities for large-scale medical response for any catastrophic event.
- $232,655 from the Citizen Corp Program. These funds are used to support activities that promote community involvement in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response, and recovery.
The funds were awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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Jul 18 2007
Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)
Jul 16 2007
Wes HIckman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham was a guest on NBC Meet the Press on Sunday, July 15. Here is the video of the show and Senator Graham’s thoughts on the current situation in Iraq and the political debate in the U.S. Senate.
The video is located on the Meet the Press website at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608.
Jul 11 2007
Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today said he was pleased with the decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to appoint Earle Joiner Bedenbaugh of Newberry County to serve on the Farm Service Agency’s state committee in South Carolina.
“I’m very pleased President Bush has decided to appoint Earle to this most important position,” said Graham. “Earle has been a successful agri-businessman and is one of the finest individuals you will ever meet. He understands our state’s agricultural community and will represent us well in this important position.”
FSA state committees are responsible for the general direction and supervision of state FSA programs. Committees keep farmers informed of agency program activities while resolving appeals and complaints. Members also maintain cooperative relationships with the agribusiness community.
Bedenbaugh has farmed for 32 years specializing in seed production, beef cattle and forestry. As part of the farming operation, he conditioned and processed seed for wholesale and retail sales.
Bedenbaugh was deputy administrator for state and county operations under the former Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) in Washington, D.C. He also was the ASCS state executive director and a member of the ASCS state committee in South Carolina.
Bedenbaugh is very active in many agricultural, government and civic organizations. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in animal husbandry from Clemson University in South Carolina and served in the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War.
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Jul 11 2007
Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today traveled to the White House to meet with President Bush and discuss the current situation in
“I appreciate the opportunity to meet with President Bush and brief him on my recent visit to
“President Bush remains firm in his belief that we must give General Petraeus and our troops time to carry out the new strategy. He understands the new strategy has already greatly diminished Al Qaeda in
“General Petraeus is making great progress in crushing Al Qaeda in
"The defeat of Al Qaeda in
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Jul 11 2007
Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)
Jul 03 2007
Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today announced Claflin University will receive a $2,499,999 scientific research grant. The funds will be used for a project entitled, “Implementation: Building Successful Models for Research and Inquiry-Based Learning and Teaching."
The grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation.
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Jun 28 2007
Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on the Senate immigration bill.
“Several months ago, I met with President Bush at the White House to discuss our out-of-control problems with illegal immigration. He asked me if I would help him push immigration reform through Congress and I gave him my word I would. I support President Bush and admire his leadership. I will be forever grateful for his work to try and solve this difficult problem.
“President Bush and I made it clear we would not compromise on our guiding principle that securing our nation’s borders must be our first priority. Our plan made unprecedented efforts and provided over $4.4 billion in funding to secure our nation’s borders and deal with immigration in a comprehensive manner.
“The legislation first and foremost secured our border. It also established a new comprehensive employee verification system for all workers to ensure people are in the country legally and eligible to work. We were going to break the cycle of chain migration and institute a new merit-based immigration system to attract the best and brightest from around the world. And we were instituting a temporary guest worker program to meet our nation’s labor needs.
“If the bill’s failing leads to Congress finding a better solution, then the American people will have won. If the status quo and broken immigration system continue to go unaddressed, then the American people lost. I do fear our failure to act will only allow the problem of illegal immigration to grow worse and the anger felt by some Americans will grow more intense.
“I worry that local and state governments will begin to act more aggressively and create a hodge-podge of laws. While the President’s legislation was not perfect, it was honest, realistic and an improvement over current law. Secretary of Homeland Security Chertoff, who is responsible for enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, made it clear that in some cases the tools he needs to control illegal immigration are either non-existent or very weak. I’m disappointed some of the tools he wanted and desperately needed to control illegal immigration were left on the Senate floor.
“The American people have a historically low view of Congress. We seem unable to do the public’s business and find consensus on difficult issues.
“Finally, I want to say a few words about my friend and colleague Jim DeMint. We found ourselves in an unusual situation. While we usually agree, President Bush and I have very different views from Jim on the best way to address this contentious issue. Jim held firm to his beliefs and was a very strong advocate for his position.”
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Jun 27 2007
Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417
New York Times Editorial says Graham Amendment Creates ‘Gitmos Across America’ to Hold Illegal Immigrants
“One of the worst amendments comes from Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. It would impose mandatory detention of all people who overstay their visas. …The cells would be full of people who shouldn’t be there: asylum seekers, the elderly, pregnant women, the sick and those ensnared in paperwork mistakes. Children, like the kindergartners in inmate scrubs walking the halls of a federal detention center outside Austin, Tex. Day laborers, like those in suburban Brewster, N.Y., whose arrests were hailed by a mayor who spoke proudly of his community’s “zero tolerance” for people unlawfully playing soccer in a schoolyard. The country already detains some 230,000 immigrants a year, at an annual cost of $1.2 billion. Under the current immigration bill, it would build tens of thousands more beds to hold detainees. And it would need many more — Guantánamo Bays across America — if Mr. Graham’s zero-tolerance vision is fully realized.”
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Supports Immigration Reform
“Immigration reform is a federal issue and we support efforts to achieve a national solution to this challenge to support a uniform approach. We oppose any local approach to regulating immigration on the basis that regulation must be consistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. We need immigration laws that are fair and balanced. These laws must meet the needs of our growing economy and the test of common sense. Only through this kind of comprehensive approach can an effective solution be reached. Securing the national borders is important, but it cannot be accomplished in isolation.”
Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Supports Immigration Reform
“The current system is clearly broken and we believe the status quo is unacceptable. Municipalities and counties throughout South Carolina, as well as our state government, are reacting to a lack of action at the federal level with a patchwork of immigration laws and enforcement. We fear that local mandates and piecemeal approaches will be unnecessarily costly and expose law-abiding employers to unfair liability. This would ultimately undermine our economic strength and negatively impact our station and our nation.”
Charleston Post & Courier Editorial ‘Revive Immigration Reform’
“The Senate shouldn't heed ill-informed foes of the immigration bill, but rather the general public's agreement on realistic reform. The bill's foes should abandon legislative obstructionism and offer practical counter-proposals. Otherwise, we'll again be stuck with the illegal-immigration status quo, a de facto "amnesty.”
Washington Times ‘Labor Groups, Hispanics hit Senate bill’
“Labor and Hispanic groups yesterday told senators to scrap their immigration bill and go back to the drawing board, saying that the proposal now before the Senate has become too harsh on illegal aliens and a poor deal for U.S. workers.”
Washington Times Says New Study Shows Senate Bill Breaking Chain Migration
“…a new evaluation released by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) yesterday found that the Senate bill would reduce family-based immigration from about two-thirds of current permanent visas to less than half. Employment-based visas would go from less than one-fifth to about two-fifths. The MPI evaluation said the new point system called for in the bill would also shift the profile of new legal immigrants away from Latin American and Caribbean countries and toward Asian countries, particularly India, China and the Philippines, where recent immigrants have had better English skills and higher educational attainment.”
Fox News Channel Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday
“What strikes me about this argument that's made by the opponents of the bill is that they can't really dispute that there's a lot of good stuff in here and strong stuff on border enforcement. And what they say, when you cite that to them, is they say, "Well, we don't believe them," which is the point Charles [Krauthammer] is making. "We don't believe it." On the other hand, I wonder if you put the question to them, if this was only border enforcement stuff, would you be for passing that and spending $4.4 billion, and how many more billions of dollars that it might cost to do it -- I assume the answer would be yes, to which my question would be, "Well, why would you be for that if you don't believe it?"
U.S. Chamber Of Commerce, National Restaurant Association, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), And National Federation Of Independent Business (NFIB)
"As trade associations representing the full spectrum of the American economy, we applaud the hard work of a bipartisan team of senators and the Administration for their role in crafting S.1348. We realize that many difficult issues will remain, but it is critical that the process moves forward.”
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman on the Immigration Bill
“Farmers need a comprehensive immigration reform bill approved this Congress. ... We have been pushing for a solution for years and we simply cannot wait any longer for Congress to address this issue.”
Jun 26 2007
Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417