| 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! Supporting America’s Farmers Farmers are the lifeblood of our economy, feeding our families and securing our food supply chain. In South Carolina, agribusiness is our largest economic sector, contributing nearly $52 billion and over 250,000 jobs to the state's economy.
Raised by a single mom, I know how hard it can be for families to make ends meet. President Biden’s inflationary policies have hit us hard in South Carolina and across the nation, raising the cost of food and making going to the grocery store a dreaded trip. Instead of making it cheaper for farmers to grow food for Americans, the Biden administration’s Department of Labor is now trying to force farmers to abide by another out-of-touch regulation and shoulder the burden of higher labor costs, causing food prices to spike even further.
The Department of Labor’s newest regulation inflates wage rates and creates a massive administrative burden for farmers. The implications of this new regulatory burden are massive as labor costs already account for nearly 40% of total production costs on many farms. South Carolinian farmer Chalmers Carr testified before the Senate Judiciary’s hearing on agricultural policy, detailing the threat the rule poses to the United States as it will cause rising food prices, dependence on foreign imports, and devastate thousands of American farms. That’s why I’m fighting back against the Biden administration, championing my resolution to disapprove of this regulation and stand up for farmers. Watch Mr. Carr’s Full Testimony Here. “The Department of Labor recently passed a new wage rule that will bring in new wages – higher wages – and more complexities to the program.” noted Mr. Chalmers. “Under the flawed AEWR methodology, this year our wages increase 14%. This will result in 2.6-million-dollar payroll increase, but more importantly, it will raise the cost of the price of our peaches by 5%. This is what we call food inflation.”
Mr. Carr and his wife, Lori Anne, founded Titan Farms – now the second largest peach farm in the United States. The Carrs built their family farm from the ground up, and their hard work and entrepreneurial spirit embodies the American Dream. With over four decades of agricultural experience, Mr. Carr’s testimony provided critical insight into family farms such as his, around the nation, whose livelihoods are being threatened by the Biden administrations’ out-of-touch and burdensome regulations.
I will always fight to support our hardworking farmers in South Carolina and across our nation. That’s why, I led my Republican colleagues in introducing a resolution to overturn this misguided rule from the Department of Labor. I remain committed to doing everything in my power to bring costs down for our farmers and lower food prices for our families.
Sincerely, | 