October 28, 2022

Friends, 

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

Speaking to Students in Former Colleague's Class

This week, it was great to get some of the band back together again for Trey Gowdy’s class at Wofford College. It’s great to see Trey on Fox, but it's always better to catch up in person and share with his students.

Biden's Border Crisis

A record number of nearly 2.4 million illegal immigrants (that we know of) have been stopped at the southern border in the past year alone, and in September, there were 227,547 recorded encounters at the southern border. The Biden Administration has allowed over one million illegal immigrants to settle in the U.S., and the Biden Administration’s “catch-and-release” immigration policy allows illegal immigrants to be released in the country while their court cases are pending (many never show up for their court cases). Our southern border is open, and an untold number of illegal immigrants have surged through undetected. This is an invasion at our border, and while Republicans are fighting for border security and commonsense solutions to secure our country, Democrats refuse to acknowledge this is even a crisis. 

Protecting Children from the Left's Radical Agenda

Joe Biden has admitted he believes children should be allowed to undergo irreversible, deeply-damaging, body-mutilating procedures and "hormone therapy" in the name of "gender identity." This is insane, and the reason I cosponsored H.R. 8731, the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, is to protect kids from this kind of abuse. For more on this, click HERE.

Fentanyl Epidemic 

A South Carolina sheriff’s office seized 30,000 grams of fentanyl, enough to kill every person residing in the state of South Carolina three times over. Fentanyl is fatal and is the leading cause of death for young adults.

Republicans have solutions to this deadly epidemic, one of which being the HALT Fentanyl Act, but House Democrats refuse to even bring this to the floor for a vote. Instead, they promote an open southern border and soft-on-crime policies that exacerbate this crisis and endanger our families. Click HERE for more information on this.

Parents are also advised to remain vigilant in checking their children's Halloween candy this year and to be on alert this Halloween for colorful fentanyl pills disguised as candy. For more information on this, click HERE.

A Win for Medical Freedom

New York City employees fired for not getting the COVID shot are being reinstated (with back pay!) after a New York state judge found the vaccine does not stop the spread. After years of treating the unvaccinated as second-class citizens, this is a HUGE win and a step in the right direction. Those who forced out and fired employees over their decision not to get the COVID shot should follow suit, and all remaining COVID shot mandates should be reversed. Click HERE for more on this.

Diesel Fuel Shortage

Diesel prices are continuing to soar nationwide with the average price today hovering at $4.96/gallon in South Carolina. Both our truckers and farmers depend on diesel fuel to do their jobs every day, and many aspects of our economy are largely driven by diesel, directly and indirectly. There is an impending diesel fuel shortage, and the U.S. diesel supply is at its lowest level since 2008 as demand is surging ahead of winter. This is a direct result of Joe Biden’s war on American energy. Americans cannot afford Joe Biden’s anti-American energy policies and his refusal to utilize our abundant natural resources to address our fuel shortages and energy crisis.

Biden's Energy Crisis 

In response to an energy crisis that held the United States dependent on Middle Eastern (OPEC cartel) countries for its energy, President Jimmy Carter created the Department of Energy in 1977.

From the Law: SEC. 101. The Congress of the United States finds that—
(1) the United States faces an increasing shortage of nonrenewable energy resources;
(2) this energy shortage and our increasing dependence on foreign energy supplies present a serious threat to the national security of the United States and to the health, safety and welfare of its citizens;
(3) a strong national energy program is needed to meet the present and future energy needs of the Nation consistent with overall national economic, environmental and social goals;
(4) responsibility for energy policy, regulation, and research, development and demonstration is fragmented in many departments and agencies and thus does not allow for the comprehensive, centralized focus necessary for effective coordination of energy supply and conservation programs; and
(5) formulation and implementation of a national energy program require the integration of major Federal energy functions into a single department in the executive branch.

Now, ask yourself: Is the U.S. more dependent or less dependent on foreign sources of energy in October 2022 since the creation of the Department of Energy? The answer is ”more dependent,” and we are dependent on countries that don’t have the Unites States’ best interests at heart: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, etc. We are also dependent on China for batteries (needed for EVs and energy storage) and solar panels (as well as all of the minerals that make these things work). This dependency also applies to our allies (just look to Germany, the EU, and Great Britain right now). In addition, the Department of Energy put a great emphasis on nuclear (operating laboratories all over the U.S.), but many would argue that China is leading the world in the next generation of nuclear technology.
Why are energy costs so high when, just a few short years ago, we had low transportation fuel costs and were net exporters of crude oil? The answer: Joe Biden

On his first day in office, the newly inaugurated President began instituting the policies that brought pain to Americans attempting to provide for their families and keep them warm and safe:

• paused and then canceled leases of Federal lands for oil and gas production (onshore and offshore);
• stopped the Keystone XL pipeline which would bring Canadian oil to refineries here in the US set up to refine that type of crude oil;
• used Agency regulations to further cripple the oil and gas industry.

Now, the world has seen President Biden fly 11,000 miles to Saudi Arabia to beg OPEC to INCREASE their supply of fossil fuels to America (putting more money in the pockets of the Saudis instead of American energy companies and shareholders)—IT IS STILL FOSSIL FUELS, YOU HYPOCRITES! And, President Biden has continued to release oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to increase the supply of, wait for it… OIL, in an attempt to lower gasoline prices for American voters hurt so much by the rising prices of transportation fuels.

The SPR was created to ensure America had a guaranteed inventory of energy supplies in times of emergencies, not to be used just to lower prices for American consumers who were feeling the pain from bad policies. The SPR is now at its lowest level since 1984. President Obama released some in response to disruptions caused by the Libyan civil war, President Trump re-filled the SPR when oil was cheap, and Joe Biden is draining it.

Joe Biden and his Administration have increased dependency on foreign energy, been hypocritical about fossil fuels (just wanting to kill AMERICAN fossil fuel industries as promised), and continued to put America’s energy security in peril by draining a strategic asset for political purposes.

Biden's Radicalized DoD to Fund Abortion Travel

This week, Joe Biden's Department of Defense released a memo announcing their plans to use American taxpayer money to travel for service members and their families to obtain an abortion. I am appalled that the DoD plans to use taxpayer dollars for this purpose, and this is another example of the Biden Administration politicizing our Armed Forces to push radical policies on our military. This move will continue to undermine Americans’ trust in the military while impairing impair military recruitment. We are calling on the Biden Administration to reverse this unprecedented and extremist policy decision immediately. To read our full letter, click HERE. 

In the District

The Clemson University Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new multimillion-dollar research laboratory and teaching facility, that will be called the Advanced Materials Innovation Complex (AMIC). The complex will be able to accommodate about 12,000 students and will be used for the Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering departments.

The University of South Carolina is rebranding, dropping the "of" in UofSC, the university announced this week. 

The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and Laurens County School District 55 joined together to start the Handle with Care Initiative to create a supportive environment for students who have experienced trauma related to a crime scene.

Flexon Industries, a manufacturer of water hoses and extension cords just completed an expansion of its Anderson County Plant and added 200,000 square feet and 120 new jobs to the area.

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.