Wes Hickman/Kevin Bishop

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today expressed his support for the tariffs currently placed on imported steel. Recent published reports have indicated the Bush Administration is planning to repeal the tariffs placed on foreign steel entering the U.S. market. “I hope the President will not rescind the steel tariffs he imposed to combat the dumping of foreign steel imports into the American market. The European and Asian imports are produced with heavy government subsidies and sold at prices that are sometimes below the production costs of American manufacturers. The foreign government subsidies amount to an unfair trade practice. “The steel tariffs implemented 18 months ago have allowed American steel manufacturers to regain some ground. Even with the tariffs the problem facing the steel industry is by no means totally corrected. “America’s will to protect manufacturing jobs from unfair trade practices must be greater than the will of other nations to capture American market share. If we abandon our efforts to correct unfair practices in steel, we are only empowering and encouraging the same practices in other areas of our economy. “It is not too much to ask other countries to play by the rules. If we fail to fight unjust trade practices our economy will continue to suffer and we will continue to lose American manufacturing jobs.” BACKGROUND: President Bush implemented the tariffs in 2001 following an investigation conducted by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which unanimously determined the U.S. steel industry was being seriously injured by unfair foreign competition. The phased import tariffs were designed to provide a three year window to enable domestic steel makers to recover, consolidate, and modernize enough to compete in the world market. President Bush also announced plans to negotiate with our trading partners to reverse what he termed a “50 year legacy of foreign government intervention in the market and direct financial support of their steel industries.” In its recently released report on the effects of the steel remedy, the ITC reported to the President that the domestic steel industry is effectively using this temporary respite to adjust to competition. However, the industry is depending on the three years it was promised to complete the restructuring and consolidation process. ####

Wes Hickman/Kevin Bishop

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today voted against legislation adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 54 to 44. It will now be sent to President Bush for his signature. “Some are calling this bill the greatest thing since sliced bread,” said Graham. “I think it’s going to be more like New Coke. Sounds like a great idea until you actually try it.” “We’re adding another floor to a house that isn’t built on a stable foundation,” said Graham. “Medicare is already scheduled to go bankrupt. Reform of the Medicare system and adding a prescription drug benefit were supposed to go hand-in-hand. Instead of sticking with that approach, we went 180 degrees the other way by adding a costly new benefit and dropping reform.” Graham voted against the original Senate proposal but remained hopeful over the past several months that the House-Senate conference committee would produce a plan that offered real reform and a prescription drug benefit for seniors. He said there were some aspects of the conference report he supported such as the provisions means-testing benefits for wealthy seniors, health savings accounts giving seniors more control over their healthcare, and some preventative health measures. Additionally, Graham supported repealing cuts in Medicare reimbursements for doctors’ services and support for rural hospitals. But on balance, the provisions Graham supported were limited in scope and not enough to garner his support for the bill. Graham noted several shortcomings of the bill including:

• Lack of effective cost containment. Graham expressed real concerns the cost of the program, estimated to cost approximately $400 billion over the next 10 years, could spiral upward at a much greater rate than predicted. He noted the bill contained many ‘donut holes,’ gaps in coverage, and that future Congress’ will push to close these holes thereby increasing costs.
• Lack of real reform. Medicare as it’s currently structured is a government command-and-controlled health care plan. Seniors currently lack any real choice in Medicare and the bill didn’t offer them enough freedom over their health care.

“At the end of the day, I believe prescription drug use will explode and the reforms will be restricted,” said Graham. “The few reforms in the bill will give way to a political effort to increase spending because the program as structured allows uncontrolled expansion. Medicare is already is serious jeopardy. I am afraid we’re simply tacking a new benefit onto a broken system that America’s grandchildren cannot afford. “I support giving senior citizens access to affordable prescription drugs, and modernizing Medicare to make it work in the 21st century,” said Graham. “In order to provide comprehensive coverage, including prescription drugs, Medicare must be reformed to make it more efficient and less of a red-tape bound bureaucracy. I’m truly disappointed we didn’t accomplish those objectives in this bill. We missed a golden opportunity.” ####

Wes Hickman/Kevin Bishop

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has written peer-to-peer network company executives calling on them to adhere to copyright laws and cease the distribution of pornography, especially child pornography, over their networks. The letter, circulated by Graham was also signed by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Barbara Boxer (D-California), and sent to executives of Grokster, Bearshare, Blubster, eDonkey2000, LimeWire, and Streamcast Networks. “Purveyors of peer-to-peer technology have legal and moral obligation to conform to copyright laws, and end the pornographic trade over these networks,” said Graham. “These programs expose our children to sexually explicit materials and provide an anonymous venue for child pornographers to hide behind the vale of technology.” The letter states, “recent studies by the General Accounting Office and Palisades Systems, a respected technology company, clearly demonstrate that your software currently is being used almost exclusively as a means of illegally trading copyrighted material and distributing pornography, including child pornography. For example, the Palisades report concluded that 97 percent of all the material available on file-sharing services was either copyrighted or pornography; 99 percent of audio files requested on file-sharing services were copyrighted; and 42 percent of all requests on file-sharing services were for adult or child pornography.” The six Senators suggest three specific courses of action to end illegal distribution of materials and protect children from exposure to graphic content:

1. Provide a Clear, Conspicuous, and Meaningful Notice & Warning to Users about the Legal Risks of Using P2P Software
2. Incorporate Effective Copyright and Pornography Filters
3. Change the “Sharing” Default Setting- P2P software is designed so that every copyrighted file users download is automatically distributed to everyone else on the network. So the only way to avoid being a forced distributor, and thereby avoid being subject to a copyright infringement lawsuit for “sharing”, is to change the default settings that come with the software.

“We strongly believe that voluntarily taking these three common-sense steps would go a long way toward educating and protecting consumers,” wrote the group. “It also would clearly indicate your company’s desire to become responsible corporate citizens.” ####

Wes Hickman

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today announced $9.8 million in federal funding for non-profit organizations to develop and operate supportive housing for the elderly in North Augusta, Sumter and North. The Supportive Housing for the Elderly Funding program provides capital advance financing and rental assistance to non-profit organizations. “Senior citizens have given so much to the development and defense of our country,” said Graham. “They truly are America’s greatest generation, and we have a responsibility to see that they are cared for and treated with dignity and respect.” North Augusta $3.5 million has been approved for Georgia Rehabilitation Institute to construct 40 one-bedroom units for the very low-income elderly in North Augusta. The project will be designed to be handicap accessible, and two percent of the rooms will be designed for visual or hearing impairments. Sumter $4.6 million has been approved for the John H. Wellons Foundation to construct 53 one-bedroom units for the very low-income elderly in Sumter. The project will be designed for accessibility to all for “aging in place” and some units will be fully handicap equipped. North $1.7 million has been approved for the Orangeburg County Council on Aging to construct 20 one-bedroom units for the very low-income elderly in North. Two units will be fully accessible according to the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards, and one unit will be designed to meet the needs of the visually or hearing impaired. The project funding is made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. ####