An Uplifting Close to Black History Month

  Watch the event recap video here.

As Black History Month came to a close, I hosted a reception welcoming African American leaders and conservatives to our capitol. Former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James and Senate Chaplain Barry Black were just a few of the incredible leaders I was blessed to host, and their lives highlight the significant pathways African Americans have paved for us to follow.

Read more about my Black History Month Reception here. 

I also hosted a roundtable with Black investors and business founders –including Herbert Drayton from Charleston, South Carolina – to discuss ways to improve minority communities’ access to capital and the ability to build wealth. As Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, ensuring all Americans can make their version of the American Dream a reality is important to me.

I’ll continue pushing solutions to open the doors to opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs across our country.

Read more about my roundtable here.

Border Trip or Photo Op?

This week, President Biden made a trip to the southern border, marking only the second time he has made the journey during his Presidency despite overseeing the largest border invasion in American history. 

President Biden’s visit to the southern border is a halfhearted attempt to pay lip service to the crisis his policies have caused. He couldn’t even be bothered to visit the region in Texas that is suffering the most due to chaos at the border.

I recently visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, where I met with border patrol officers and federal officials, discussed the ongoing illegal immigration crisis, and called on President Biden to secure the southern border and end the largest invasion in American history.

Read what else I had to say about President Biden’s trip here.

Innovation is the American Way

In 2020, I saw an opportunity to spur innovation and excellence in America's healthcare system, so I introduced the MADE in America Act. Portions of MADE were signed into law in 2022, strengthening the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain, but I am disappointed with the Biden administration's recent actions that have undercut the innovation our legislation seeks to fuel.

So this week, I urged the FDA to follow the original intent of our legislation so American innovation can remain the envy of the world. We must protect the free-market values that have made our nation strong! 

Read more about my letter to the FDA here. 

Supporting Americans With Rare Diseases

Millions of Americans face rare diseases with strength and fortitude, and they deserve our support. I was proud to champion a resolution designating February 29th as Rare Disease Day to underscore the importance of standing with these Americans. Approximately 90% of rare diseases do not have an FDA-approved treatment option for their condition, and we must continue highlighting the need to research and develop new life changing cures. 

The Daily Caller:  Americans Pay The Deadly Price Of Biden’s Border Crisis

My op-ed in the Daily Caller details the Biden administration’s open border disaster and the path to ending America’s illegal immigration crisis. 

Here’s an excerpt: “In December alone, more than 300,000 people – twice the population of my hometown of Charleston, South Carolina – illegally crossed our southern border.  This has come about in large part due to the Biden Administration’s own guilty admission that it releases over 85 percent of illegal immigrants into our country, an absurd arrangement which baits other prospective migrants with the promise of a lawless but seamless entry… Last year, anticipating the record-breaking surge in illegal migration into our country, I authored several pieces of legislation to put an end to this crisis once and for all.  First and foremost, I’ve proposed legislation that would put $10 billion toward continuing construction of President Trump’s border wall.  The conversation over border security begins and ends with building the wall, and no border security measure is complete without this critical funding to prevent and stall would-be law-breakers from entering our country.  It’s that simple.”

Read my full op-ed in the Daily Caller here. 

Fox News: Laken Riley murder ignites demands to hire more CBP agents, redirect $15B Democrat IRS payday to border

After an illegal immigrant brutally murdered a young student in Georgia, I called for border reforms that would put a stop to these senseless tragedies.

Read more details in this Fox News article by Michael Ruiz: “Critics of the Biden administration's apparent failures to address a mass influx of illegal immigrants across the southern border say Jose Antonio Ibarra, the suspected killer from Venezuela, shouldn't have been in the U.S. to begin with. ‘Laken Riley’s story is heartbreaking,’ said Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who co-sponsored a pair of border security bills and has been floated as a possible vice-presidential pick. ‘It should be a wake-up call to the Biden administration that we cannot continue putting Americans’ lives at risk with their open border policies.’ Scott and other high-profile Republicans are pushing for border reforms in a series of bills to crack down on the type of illegal entry and "catch and release" policies that allowed the Ibarra bothers to remain in the U.S. for so long without showing evidence of an asylum claim.”

Read the full article here. 

This week, I’m celebrating Eriyonna Walcott, a Sumter High School senior who was recently accepted into the Coast Guard Academy Scholar program. South Carolina is the proud home to nearly half of the Coast Guard’s fleet, and I’m thrilled to see this bright young student become a part of such a wonderful mission! Eriyonna worked hard to earn this opportunity, and I am eager to see what her bright future has in store.

Read more about the Coast Guard Academy Scholar program here! 

Sincerely,

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