MARCH 18, 2014 — U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham is South Carolina’s Senior Senator and a high profile member of Congress. Senator Graham graduated from the University of South Carolina with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Juris Doctorate. He was the first member of his family to graduate from college. He has served in USAF as a judge advocate and continues to serve in the reserves, being one of only 2 members of Congress serving in the military. 
He was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994 and in 2002 succeeded Strom Thurmond in the US Senate. He is currently seeking re-election. In what was often a lighthearted and humorous presentation, Senator Graham spoke about issues he feels are important to the Low country, State and Nation. The first item he mentioned was Flood Insurance Reform and how that the recent bill essentially saved the Lowcountry as it retracted rules that would have made much of the Charleston real estate unsellable. Although he admitted it is an imperfect solution, it is very important to our region.
Next, he spoke about the importance of deepening the Port of Charleston. With 1 in 10 jobs depending on the port and $4 Billion of BMW dollars passing through the port, we need it deepened to 50 feet. The ships are getting larger and the Panama Canal is expanding. Charleston needs a 50 foot port to serve these ships continuously.
Next up was Obamacare. Senator Graham emphasized his position that the purpose of Obamacare is to replace private healthcare with government run healthcare and it would inhibit job growth by mandating firms provide insurance at a certain number of employees or having firms increasing part time employment to avoid paying for insurance. He admitted that a Republican alternative wasn’t known but they needed to find one. For the party to grow they need solutions and with solu-tions comes criticism he continued, but that is no excuse to not lead.
He continued on with Social Security and that the biggest issue facing our generation is demographics. He joked, “The American Dream used to be owning your own home. Now it’s getting your kids out of your home.” There are 3 workers for every social security recipient today; there will be 2 in 20 years. How do you replace the 80 million baby boomers retiring in the next 4 years? 60 years was the average life expectancy when Social Security started but life expectancy is greater now.
Noting how Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill came together to save Social Security in the 80’s, Senator Graham emphasized that Republicans and Democrats need to come together now as well. Telling his story of how Social Security saved him when his parents both passed away when he was young, he understands the need for it but the government doesn’t need to subsidize those who have or now have the means to take care of themselves as he does. He concluded with National Security and the very real threats posed by nation-states, such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and the damage Sequestration has done to our military. Without national security there will be no social security. He wrapped up confident that our best days as a nation are ahead but not without sacrifice.
— Submitted by Don Baus, Keyway Member