| Dear Friend,
Welcome back to my Week in Review newsletter. Please remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube for regular updates on how I am serving the people of South Carolina! What is a Recession? This week, we learned the U.S. has experienced two negative quarters of GDP growth — the historic definition of a recession. The Biden administration is attempting to redefine the term “recession” to convince Americans the economy is moving in a positive direction. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and I introduced a resolution to affirm the historic definition of the term. It is now more important than ever to address the issues hurting Americans, rather than twisting words to fit a partisan narrative to allow higher taxes and reckless spending. Read more about our resolution here. Keeping Spending in Check The federal government’s spending has grown drastically. In the past two years, Congress has passed five spending bills totaling over $3.4 trillion — including $10 billion for the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine public education campaign. In an effort to provide oversight of this spending, Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), I, including other members from the House and the Senate, sent a letter to the U.S. Inspector General requesting an audit of how that $10 billion was spent. We must get back to stewarding Americans’ money responsibly. Read more about our call for an audit here. Combating Crime Murders, carjackings, and overdoses have dramatically increased since 2021—which marked the deadliest year for law enforcement since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Neighborhoods across the country are experiencing this spike in violent crimes. This should not be the standard. I introduced the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act with Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). This bill aims to provide commonsense fixes to criminal provisions to ensure prosecutors have tools and support to hold bad actors accountable for their actions. Read more about our bill here. Bolstering Telehealth for Vulnerable Americans For many of our nation’s seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, accessing federal technology and resources has been far too difficult. This is why Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and I held a hearing on improving access to these crucial technologies for our nation’s vulnerable populations. South Carolina’s Ronald G. Holmquest, retired and U.S. Navy Veteran and patient at Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Center, testified on the care he has received in the Palmetto State. Click to watch Ranking Member Scott’s opening remarks Spilling the #SCSweetTea on Gullah Geechee For this week’s edition of Spilling the #SCSweetTea, we are celebrating Ms. Emily Meggett’s legacy of selflessly feeding those in her community. Gullah Geechee cultural traditions are very unique to the Lowcountry and surrounding regions. Good cooking doesn’t just feed the stomach; it feeds the soul — and Ms. Meggett is doing just that! Ms. Meggett’s legacy of feeding her entire community will live on in her cookbook that will preserve the Gullah culture for future generations. She believes that “Cooking teaches, cooking heals, cooking loves.” Read more about Ms. Meggett’s Legacy here. Sincerely, | 