Dear fellow South Carolinians, Thank you for subscribing to my weekly e-newsletter, and please remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. CO ALERTS Act Last Thursday, I joined Sen. Menendez to introduce the Carbon Monoxide Alarms Leading Every Resident to Safety Act (CO ALERTS Act), a bipartisan bill, to ensure that the highly vulnerable 1.3 million Americans in public and rural housing are protected from this silent killer. HUD Secretary Carson has made this a priority issue and supports legislative efforts to install carbon monoxide alarms in public housing. This bill will aim to curb the over 50,000 people visiting the emergency room every year due to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. My first priority when I heard about the unfortunate incidents in Columbia, South Carolina was to make sure that every family was properly taken care of and resettledall while conferring with my colleagues and the administration on the best path forward. Our final product is a meticulous, bipartisan bill that has wide support and a path forward into law. This bill will save lives, and I look forward to the day it is passed. You can read more about the bill here. SIGMA Act Last week, I helped introduce bipartisan legislation to increase investment in American small manufacturers. The Strengthening Investment to Grow Manufacturing in America (SIGMA) Act would support American manufacturers through increasing affordable loans, incentivizing operation growth, and expanding financial resources and education assistance to small manufacturers. Having been a former small business owner and entrepreneur, I understand the challenges that many across our nation face when trying to start a business and build their American Dream. By investing in, and providing our manufacturers and innovators with access to, necessary resources, we are advancing our communities and creating more jobs for Americans. You can read more about the bill here. PROMISE Act Last Tuesday, I joined Sen. Coons to introduce the Promoting Robust Opportunities for Minority Institutions and Strengthening Entrepreneurship (PROMISE) Act. This legislation would require the Small Business Administration to produce an annual public report detailing its relationship with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s), strengthening the relationship between the two organizations. Investing in our students at HBCU’s is an investment that will reap dividends for everyone. Whether it’s the business community looking to identify the highly talented workforce of tomorrow, or companies looking to provide students with technical skills and training, we all have a role to play in ensuring that our students have the resources they need to make the American Dream a possibility for all. I look forward to seeing how this legislation benefits not only our educational institutions, but our workforce in the future. You can read more about the PROMISE Act here. Sincerely, Tim |