Coronavirus

Here’s the debate: (A) Should we be taking measured, reasonable steps to re-open America and get people safely back to work, knowing this path must be monitored very closely and isn’t without some risk? Or (B) should we extend efforts to keep Americans at home and “non-essential” businesses closed, knowing the financial damage this will cause to American families and our economy? The… Read more »

Lt. Governor Pamela Evette is such an incredible asset for South Carolina. It was a pleasure to speak with her by video conference on May 12th.  She had excellent insight into topics like: South Carolina’s plan for a safe, reasonable, phased re-opening Our state’s resources and PPE supplies Coordination with North Carolina (since several counties in the 5th district… Read more »

When someone proposes a 1,800-page bill that 1️⃣ was negotiated in secret 2️⃣ will cost more than $3 trillion dollars, before we even understand the impact of earlier expenditures 3️⃣ has more than 70 appropriations in excess of a billion dollars each 4️⃣ contains countless partisan measures that are completely unrelated to the bill’s stated… Read more »

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) said it perfectly yesterday: “We are too often presented with a false dichotomy: either saving our economy or saving lives.” He was talking with Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing, and what Sen. Scott said was exactly right. Those who believe preventative measures should never have been taken are ignoring the immeasurable toll that would have had on human… Read more »

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has two very important hospitals in our congressional district: Lancaster Medical Center and Chester Medical Center. Yesterday I was in Charleston to greet three massive Boeing Dreamlifters that arrived with over 150,000 protective eye goggles and face shields. This personal protective equipment is now on its way to facilities within the… Read more »

This Friday afternoon, top-ranking liberals in the House of Representatives are trying to finalize a 5th piece of COVID-19 legislation. They’ve nicknamed it “CARES 2” to coattail on the popularity of the original CARES Act, which passed overwhelmingly in late March. This is unfortunately not the bi-partisan effort it should be. Negotiations are taking place behind the scenes and most of… Read more »

The recent CARES Act definitely had some spending that shouldn’t have been included as part of a COVID-19 response package. So yesterday, I co-sponsored a bill to claw back over $27 billion from that legislation. Let’s dispense with the obvious first: Every bill is a compromise, and every member of Congress must decide whether – considered in its entirety – the good of that legislation… Read more »

Let’s take a married couple with two kids. $36,000 is their family's share of what the federal government will BORROW this quarter alone (April – June). That's based on news released late yesterday from the U.S. Treasury. Obviously in response to this pandemic, significant spending has been required to protect our nation and keep our economy from total collapse. However, we cannot forget… Read more »

“Unrestricted aid” – remember this phrase, because it’s going to be a major point of contention in the coming weeks. As Congress looks into a possible 5th piece of legislation in response to this pandemic, there’s now a growing push for the federal government to send over half a TRILLION dollars in unrestricted aid to states and local governments. By “unrestricted” I mean no conditions… Read more »

Mothers are certainly among our unsung heroes – the “glue of families” as Dr. Connie Guille describes them here. Both of those descriptions have been especially true lately. Many mothers (particularly of school-aged children) are facing even more challenges than usual during this pandemic. While physical health has dominated much of the news about COVID-19, our mental wellbeing is just… Read more »