Office of the Speaker
SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2010
Contact: Greg Foster
(803) 734-3125
Bill Protecting Our State’s Rights Passes House
Lawmakers send a strong message to Congress
(Columbia, SC) – Today, the South Carolina House of Representatives passed a measure that affirms rights given to states expressively defined by the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. Recent overreaching by the federal government has pushed the limit of federal accumulation of power at the expense of the states it collectively represents. This bill reaffirms rights granted to the states and implores the members of Congress to abide by the Constitution they took an oath to uphold.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement about the passage of today’s bill that moves to protect our state’s rights:
“Today, we sent a message to Congress – South Carolina believes that the federal government is engaging in an unprecedented takeover of power from the states. While there is no law we can pass to stop them, it is important to make our position and the position of our constituents known to the federal government.
“The opposition to this simple statement of principle was astounding. Over four days of debate, Democrats threw up multiple roadblocks and spent endless hours talking against the resolution in an effort to kill the measure – Republicans spent less than 16 minutes speaking in favor of the resolution. Most members wanted to vote and move on, because issues like job creation, ESC reform and education were sidelined while the Democrats debated themselves for four days.
“Our freedom is what makes our country great. Our founding fathers made it clear that the protection of those rights and freedoms set forward in the Constitution were paramount to the survival of our nation. This core belief is what moved the South Carolina Legislature to take up this measure reaffirming those rights.
“Over the past several years, we have witnessed an incredible expansion of power and influence taken by the federal government. From the passage of a national Real ID to the recent attempt to socialize health care, the federal government is eroding away our constitutionally granted rights that empower individual states.
“This piece of legislation is a key component of our ‘Protecting State’s Rights’ 2010 agenda item. Last year – in an effort led by Rep. Mike Pitts and others – the House passed H. 3509, a bill affirming South Carolina’s 9th and 10th Amendment rights that powers not expressively granted to the federal government by the Constitution shall be left up to the states to decide. Because of increased federal overreaching, the Senate further expanded this bill (S. 424) to include even more rights defined in the Bill of Rights.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paul Thurmond
843-323-5660
Paul Thurmond Issues Statement
On President Obama’s Soaring Budget
Charleston, South Carolina – February 1, 2010 – Conservative congressional candidate Paul Thurmond today issued the following statement on President Obama’s $3.8 trillion budget that adds nearly $1.3 trillion in deficit spending -hitting an all-time record high:
“We can not spend our way out of this financial hole, adding more than a trillion dollars in deficit spending while continuing to grow government. It’s just not fair to our children and grand children.” said Thurmond.
“President Obama puts much of the financial blame on tax cuts passed by previous administrations. Tax cuts create jobs and we need ease the federal burden on small businesses so they can grow and get more people back to work in order to fix this fiscal crisis in which we find ourselves.”
“My campaign will focus on job creation throughout the 1st Congressional District, limited federal spending, a healthcare system that works and a government that is responsive to the people,” said Thurmond.
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SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2010
Contact: Greg Foster
(803) 734-3125
LAC Audit Shows Agency in Shambles
Reforming ESC for our state’s unemployed a must for 2010
(Columbia, SC) – House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement about today’s release of the Legislative Audit Council’s (LAC) audit of the Employment Security Commission (ESC):
“The LAC’s reporting of just how broken the ESC has become is shocking. When Representative Kenny Bingham and House Leadership began its push for ESC Reform last year, we knew there were great concerns with the operations and accountability of this agency. However, this report shows an agency in shambles. This audit exposes a complete lack of accountability, transparency and an all-in-all failure by the Commission to accomplish basic goals.
“We must act swiftly to reform the ESC from a check writing agency to the job placement agency our state needs. These oversights and failures have cost our citizens opportunities and jobs. Reforming the ESC can’t wait another year, our state’s unemployed need it now.
“As revealed by the audit, the ESC watched as its Unemployment Trust Fund plummeted from an $835 million surplus in 2000 to a near $800 million deficit today but failed to alert the General Assembly to this concern. Since July of 2000, that is a loss of $400,000 per day that has gone unreported in spite of at least two state laws requiring notification of the Legislature.
“Millions of taxpayer dollars have been lost to fraud and overpayments with no action taken to protect or retrieve our money. Job placement has taken a backseat to simply throwing more money at our employment problems. Only 40% of all the jobs available in our state are listed by the ESC and little is being done or followed up on to make sure qualified workers are connected with available jobs.
“Hopefully this exposing of how severely broken this agency has become will open the eyes of all lawmakers to the need for major reforms at the ESC. This is one of the reasons why our state’s unemployment rate is far too high; an employment agency in disarray has done little to combat joblessness.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
