July 15, 2022

Friends,

I hope you and your family are well! I wanted to provide you with a few updates regarding what’s going on –

Honoring Chief Warrant Officer Woody Williams

Chief Warrant Officer Woody Williams, the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient, lay in honor at the Capitol this week. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism" as a Marine during the Battle of Iwo Jima. May God Bless this hero's family. Semper Fi!

I also had the privilege to sit down with a Medal of Honor recipient from South Carolina this week. I am thankful for our heroes and all they sacrifice to keep our nation free. 

In the News

It was great to join Newsmax this week to discuss inflation, why Biden should unleash American energy production, and the reality of the Democrats' anti-life abortion agenda. Click HERE to check out our full conversation.

I also joined One America News Network this week to discuss the implications of Joe Biden's America-last energy policy, Republican solutions to the energy crisis, and why Congress should investigate the Biden family. Click HERE for our full conversation. 

Why I Voted Against the NDAA

Last night, I voted against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for many reasons, but I wanted to walk you through some of the specific issues behind my vote. I cosponsored nine amendments to the NDAA, but unfortunately, they were not included or even allowed to be debated. As it now stands, the NDAA weakens our Armed Forces by putting an emphasis on the woke agenda and ideology when it should instead be focused on strengthening national security.

For one, the NDAA failed to remove the Armed Forces’ COVID vaccine mandate, including the discharge of service members who refuse the vaccine, even for religious or medical reasons. It also failed to prohibit the transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the United States, which will allow terrorists to potentially be sent to facilities in Colorado, Kansas, and Charleston, SC. Not to mention, this version of the NDAA allows for woke Critical Race Theory “diversity training” in the Armed Forces, and fails to complete the border wall for our national security.

The NDAA also threatens our Second Amendment rights by creating a pathway to mandatory gun storage, allows for military dollars to be spent towards awareness of embryo-destructive fertility treatments, weakens our immigration standards, and furthers the “woke” agenda through gender analysis training in US military schools, while requiring public companies to annually disclose the racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, and veteran status of their board directors, nominees, and senior executive officers to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Among the amendments I cosponsored, but were not included, was an amendment to permanently suspend the DoD contractor COVID vaccine mandate, an amendment to ensure that detainees from Guantanamo Bay could not be transferred to US bases, an amendment to authorize completion of the Southern Border Wall, an amendment to bar DoD from leasing land to abortion providers, an amendment to end the COVID vaccine mandate for the Armed Forces, an amendment to ban Critical Race Theory based trainings for members of the Armed Forces, and an amendment to stop the federal government from closing Parris Island.

Opposing the Democrats' Radical Anti-Life Agenda  

Today’s Democrats are not pro-choice—they are pro-abortion activists with an anti-life agenda, pushing for abortion on demand until the point of birth.

Today, I voted NO on legislation that would go far beyond codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law. H.R. 8296, the “Abortion on Demand Until Birth” Act, would remove virtually all restrictions on abortion, weaken conscience protections for medical providers, allow abortion for any reason at any stage, and permit discriminatory abortions based on sex, race or disability, i.e. eugenics. This legislation passed the House, but we pray it will be dead on arrival in the Senate.

We know the pro-abortion agenda is evil, and if we have seen anything in the past months, it’s that Democrats will stop at nothing to enshrine the ability to kill a child in the womb and impose their anti-life agenda on Americans at the expense of unborn babies.

I will ALWAYS fight to protect a vulnerable, unborn baby’s right to life and defend the intrinsic value of human life in the womb. The fight for life in a post-Roe world has just begun, and I will not back down in pushing back against the Democrats’ extremist abortion agenda.

Biden's Border Crisis

Today, my colleagues and I from across the country spoke on behalf of border security and how our nation must respond to the invasion at our southern border. The fact of the matter is we have NO IDEA who is in our country. A weak southern border is a threat to us all. The situation at the southern border has escalated into a humanitarian and national security crisis due to President Biden's border policies. I am a proud cosponsor of Rep. Jodey Arrington’s H.J. Res. 50, to affirm the rights of states to protect their sovereign border when the federal government fails to do so. I have also filed and cosponsored numerous pieces of legislation to secure our border and enforce our immigration laws. 

Legislative Action

I cosponsored Rep. Lauren Boebert's H.R. 8374, the "Shall Not Be Infringed" Act to repeal the unconstitutional red flag laws passed in June and to defend the Second Amendment. 

I cosponsored Rep. Lisa McClain's H.Res. 1228 to express support for the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that reversed Roe v. Wade and will lead to countless lives saved! 

I cosponsored Rep. Buddy Carter's H.R.8354 to prevent federal funding for transportation to get an abortion or pay for transportation across state lines. 

In the District

The Atlanta Braves World Series trophy is to be presented in the Upstate and will make multiple stops across the state, including in Anderson. Following last year’s World Series victory the Atlanta Braves have recently embarked on a 151-stop tour- commemorating 151 of Braves baseball- of “Braves Country” to allow fans to catch a glimpse of the trophy. Greenville and Spartanburg were two upstate South Carolina cities that made the list. 

Main Street America recognized Main Street Laurens and Main Street Clinton. Recently 863 Main Street programs across the nation were accredited, including five South Carolina programs. 

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It is an honor to serve the Third District of South Carolina. Should you or your family need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact my office directly.