July 25, 2022

Friends,

I hope you and your family are well! A lot was going on in the District last Friday with our energy trip in full swing, so I apologize the newsletter is coming out later than normal. That being said, I wanted to provide you with a few updates regarding what’s going on and give you a look into the "All of the Above Energy" Tour I led to the Third District last week to show Members of Congress from across the country how the Palmetto State leads the way in providing "all-of-the-above" energy solutions to power the Upstate –

Clemson Leads the Way in Innovative Energy Solutions

On our first visit of the All of the Above Energy tour, we had a great evening in God’s country (Clemson University) with Members of Congress from across the nation, Governor Henry McMaster, state legislators, and leaders in the energy sector, and we learned of the university’s capabilities in energy innovation, research, and education. I am always proud to see my alma mater paving the way for our “all of the above” energy future through innovative solutions and training the next generation of the energy sector, focusing specifically on the utilization of alternate sources, from battery storage to hydrogen to wind power. Go Tigers!

Bad Creek Hydro Station

On Friday, the first stop of the All of the Above Energy Tour was Duke Energy’s Bad Creek Hydro Station in Salem, with its reservoir 1,200 feet above Lake Jocassee. My colleagues and I were briefed on hydropower, a pivotal piece of our energy economy in the Upstate, and I got to show off a beautiful part of the Third District. South Carolina’s innovative approach to powering the Upstate really is “all of the above.”

Bad Creek Hydro station is a facility that generates electricity by pumping water from Lake Jocassee to Bad Creek Reservoir and then from Bad Creek Reservoir back to Lake Jocassee. Bad Creek reservoir is a 367-acre body of water which is essentially a massive battery used to store energy from Lake Jocassee.

Oconee Nuclear Station 

On Friday, we also had the opportunity to tour Duke Energy’s Oconee Nuclear Station, one of the nation’s premier nuclear facilities. We saw the reactors and the control room firsthand to see how Duke safely generates 24/7/365 baseload power needed to power our homes, our schools, and our businesses in South Carolina. There is no doubt nuclear energy will play an integral role in this country’s energy future, and we hope to continue to pave the way for its development by reforming regulations to encourage innovation and investment. Nuclear energy is safe, reliable, and affordable, not to mention, it is 100% carbon free.

The Oconee Nuclear Station on Lake Keowee in South Carolina produces enough electricity to power 1.9 million homes and was the first nuclear station to produce 100 million kilowatt hours of electricity.  The Oconee Nuclear Station utilizes nuclear fission in Uranium to convert water from Lake Keowee into steam which then power turbines to produce electricity. 

I am grateful for everyone who took part in the All of the Above Energy Tour last week to show how South Carolina employs an all-of-the-above approach, utilizing nuclear, hydropower, and other resources to power our state. As co-chair of the House Energy Action Team, I'm proud to represent a District that leads in all-of-the-above energy and was excited to welcome Rep. William Timmons, Rep. Drew Ferguson, Rep. Richard Hudson, Rep. Kevin Hern, Rep. Diana Harshbarger, Rep. Troy Balderson, Rep. Ron Estes, Rep. Kelly Armstrong, and Rep. Rick Allen to South Carolina's Third District. For more coverage on my tour, click HERE or HERE. 

South Carolina Prayer Breakfast

“Come near to God, and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8)

It’s always special to be a part of this great South Carolina tradition— the 12th Annual South Carolina Prayer Breakfast—as leaders from across our state come together to share what God has done and pray for our nation.

Standing for America-First Energy Policy

We must stop draining our oil reserves and handing our energy security over to China. This is why I cosponsored Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' amendment to prohibit the Department of Energy from sending America’s emergency oil reserves to China to build its own oil reserves.

I testified in front of the Committee on Rules in support of adding this amendment to H.R. 8294 to ensure our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is used for American security, not to embolden our adversaries. For my full remarks, click HERE.

Standing for Life and the Constitution 

Last month, the Supreme Court rightly struck down Roe v. Wade for utilizing bad constitutional theory to attempt to create a Constitutional “right” to an abortion that didn’t exist. Last week, Democrats tried to bypass the Court by putting a statute into law that could potentially reinstate “Roe” through other means, this time through the guise of protecting access to contraception.
Democrats wrote their bill in haste, and in the process did a sloppy job with their definitions. In fact, they’ve been scrambling to amend the bill all week as many Republicans have pointed out its numerous flaws. As written, the bill would likely allow companies to avoid the FDA process completely in regards to contraception, putting the health and safety of women at risk.

Also, drugs that cause abortions could also slip in under these definitions, making this a backdoor national law to allow abortions, undercutting pro-life initiatives taking place on the state level throughout the country.
Additionally, they overrode existing religious conscience protections in federal law, mandating that health care workers give out these drugs even if they have objections to their use. This is a clear violation of our First Amendment freedoms, and one of the many reasons that the vast majority of House Republicans opposed this terrible bill. Furthermore, Democrats also put into this bill that state governments and federal agencies wouldn’t be able to limit funding to organizations like Planned Parenthood who provide these pills.

Many of us in the pro-life community have been working for decades to overturn Roe v. Wade and restore the Right to Life. The ink isn’t even dry on Dobbs and Democrats along with a handful of misguided Republicans are already trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by undermining what the Court did with shoddy, ill-conceived leftist bills. You can’t call yourself “pro-life” and turn around and vote for nonsense like this. This bill wasn’t about contraception, it was about federalizing abortion. This was an easy “No” vote for me to cast – and I trust it will be for our pro-life Republican Senators as well.

Legislative Action

Last week, I cosponsored H. Res. 1233 to condemn the recent attacks on pro-life facilities, organizations, and churches in the wake of the Dobbs leak and Roe v. Wade being overturned.

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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. 

Blessings and Liberty,

Jeff Duncan
Member of Congress