Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made the following statement: “Today is a chance for all of us to celebrate the fact we have a long-standing tradition of peaceful transfers of power. There are countless countries in the world that would dream of having a day like this. “In his second term, President Bush has a chance to take on domestic and foreign policy problems that will set the tone for this century. “Reforming Social Security is a big item on his agenda. The president is right when he says it’s a system in need of repair. It’s important we make the tough choices today to ensure Social Security is there for future generations of Americans. “The President is also right when he says that our security is also dependent on other parts of the world being free. We’ve seen from 9-11 that if you have regimes allowing terrorists to thrive, we will pay a price. Our goal in this century is to ensure liberty can be spread. Freedom around the world helps make us more secure. “This will be a bold second term by President Bush and I look forward to helping him strengthen America.” #####