| Dear fellow South Carolinians,
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Work to be Done
As COVID-19 continues to affect lives across our nation, I am more determined than ever to create meaningful legislation that will reduce the economic burden on not only South Carolinians, but all Americans. Unfortunately, last night and today House and Senate Democrats have chosen to put up roadblock after roadblock. I worked through the weekend with my colleagues to create a bipartisan package that will, among other things, provide recovery checks of up to $1,200 for those making less than $75,000 a year or $150,000 jointly, provide our small businesses with an immediate cash flow to help pay their employees and keep their doors open, and ramp up the production of personal protective equipment for our health care workers. And last night, Nancy Pelosi flew back to Washington after taking a week off and blew up the entire process.
My message is simple: political games must play no role here. Democrats are demanding provisions such as lowering fuel emissions standards for airlines in order to move forward with the bill. This is not the time to try and staple the New Green Deal onto a bill; it is time for action. Our doctors and nurses, the sick, the unemployed, the small business owners struggling to keep their doors open, deserve it.
Bringing Americans Home
Last Friday, I sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State, asking officials to expedite the safe return of Americans trapped in other countries due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Many countries have suddenly closed their borders in response to the growing threat of coronavirus, leaving American citizens with no means of returning home.
My letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo states, “Please expedite as quickly and as safely as possible the return of American citizens to our country. This is a difficult time for all of us, and we need to bring our citizens back home to their families. If my staff or I can be of assistance, please contact me immediately.” You can read the full letter here.
Resources
As the Senate continues this important work, I want to thank our health care workers across South Carolina and the nation for their tireless efforts. They are truly our heroes, and we must all join them by continuing to follow CDC guidelines regarding social distancing and hygiene. If you have not yet read those guidelines, I encourage you to visit www.coronavirus.gov as soon as possible.
As I mentioned last week, if you are feeling ill, you can visit MUSC.care for a free virtual COVID-19 screening or https://www.prismahealth.org/virtual-visit/ for a free virtual visit (with coupon code COVID19). With a referral from a Prisma Health provider or a Prisma Health virtual visit, drive-thru testing options are available in the Upstate at Greenville Memorial Hospital and in the Midlands at Richland Hospital.
For more complete information on resources for South Carolinians, please visit my website.
As always, my team and I are working tirelessly on behalf of the great state of South Carolina. I am proud of the way that South Carolinians have risen to the challenges of COVID-19, and I am confident that we will defeat this virus by continuing to work together and strongly support one another.
Sincerely,
Tim | 