|
Celebrating Chanukah
I was honored to speak at Chanukah in the Square 2023 in my hometown of Charleston. I expressed support for Israel and the Jewish people and condemned the antisemitic, pro-Hamas demonstrations taking place in the United States and around the world. As we celebrate the Festival of Lights, my prayer is that we will see the end of antisemitism, bigotry and hatred.
Read more about the Chanukah in the Square event here.
Calling Out the UN’s Hypocrisy in Response to Hamas’s Sexual Violence
The United Nations' (UN) refusal to immediately denounce Hamas’s horrifying sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7th drew widespread condemnation from the international community. The UN was founded to protect human rights, yet it cannot even bring itself to unequivocally stand with the Israeli women who were brutally raped and assaulted.
I, along with Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and 30 of our bipartisan Senate colleagues, penned a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres calling out the hypocrisy of the United Nations’ delayed response. We have a responsibility to protect the defenseless and speak up for those who have been silenced. I will continue to be that voice in Congress.
Read our letter to the UN Secretary-General here.
Protecting American Students from Chinese Influence
I joined Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in introducing the Protecting Education from Malign Foreign Influence Act. This bill will prevent higher education institutions and their faculty from entering into certain relationships with foreign adversaries and require states to develop policies to create similar requirements for K-12 schools. We cannot allow American students – the future of our great nation – to be corrupted by bad actors, such as China, who are pushing anti-American propaganda and sowing chaos and distrust around the world.
Read more about my Protecting Education from Malign Foreign Influence Act here.
Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars
Since President Biden took office, taxpayers have footed the bill for his administration’s far-left climate agenda. By selling out to the United Nations' radical green agenda and pledging billions of dollars to their Green Climate Fund, the Biden administration has proved yet again that it cares more about pushing radical climate policy than making energy affordable and reliable for American families just trying to make ends meet.
This week, I joined Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) in introducing the No Tax Dollars for the UN Climate Agenda Act, which would bar President Biden from allocating taxpayer dollars to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Agenda, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change or the UN Green Climate Fund. I will continue fighting to ensure that hard earned tax dollars go where they belong—back in the pockets of those who earned them.
Read more about the No Tax Dollars for the UN Climate Agenda Act here.
Securing State and National Wins in Annual Defense Bill
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA) takes critical steps to restore American leadership, bolster our southern border, curb the influence of foreign adversaries like China and Russia and support our brave men and women in uniform and their families. South Carolina serves as a vital training ground for and home to so many of the selfless Americans who serve this nation. From the Low Country to the Upstate, this bill invests in South Carolina’s military facilities and supports our critical defense industry, ensuring our state continues to serve an important role in our national security at home and abroad.
Read more about the wins in this year’s NDAA here.
Meeting with Hamas Victims
On Thursday, I met with victims of Hamas’s October 7th terror attack and members of victims’ families. The victims shared harrowing personal accounts of survival and about the atrocities inflicted by Hamas on other innocent civilians, including children. Since October 7th, the world has watched the shear brutality and terror that Hamas inflicted on thousands of people across Israel, but hearing firsthand accounts in-person brought these horrors into painful perspective. The United States must stand firm in our support to Israel and its people.
Watch a video message from Senator Scott following the meeting or read more about the meeting here. |