| 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!
Protecting America’s Sensitive Sites From Communist China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will try anything to undermine America’s security and steal our technology, including buying land near U.S. military bases. We can't let this happen. That’s why I introduced the Protect Our Bases Act to bolster our process for reviewing foreign land purchases near sensitive military bases, intelligence facilities, and national labs. This bill will help prevent adversaries like the CCP from compromising the security of military and government facilities on our home turf.
Read more about this legislation here.
Protecting Jewish Students on Our College Campuses
Jewish students across our country are fearing for their safety as too many of America’s colleges have become hotbeds of antisemitic rhetoric and violence. From pro-Hamas messages displayed at George Washington University, to antisemitic rallies at Harvard, the calls for a Jewish genocide and promotion of bigotry in our institutions of learning is nothing short of evil.
To protect our Jewish students, I introduced legislation requiring the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when investigating antisemitic acts on campus. America cannot and will not be silent in the face of blatant antisemitism.
Read more about my bill fighting antisemitism here.
Promoting Economic Opportunity while Strengthening America’s National Security
As the foundation of the United States’ economic relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) facilities trade between U.S. and African businesses and can serve as a critical tool to malign influence, diversify supply chains, reduce poverty, and promote good governance. Because this critical program is set to expire in 2025, I led a letter to Senate leadership, urging them to renew AGOA as soon possible. We must send a signal to our partners that the U.S.—not our adversaries—should be their partner of choice.
Read more about the AGOA Act here.
Strengthening Ties Between HBCUs and African Partners, Combating China’s Influence
For the past two decades, China has used academic exchange programs for African students to expand its influence across Sub-Saharan Africa. The number of African students at Chinese institutions grew by 258% between 2011 and 2017, with over 80,000 African students studying in China in 2018. Last year, China opened its first CCP-funded party school in Africa.
To address this growing threat to America’s national security and combat China’s authoritarian influence, I introduced the HBCU-Africa Partnership Act of 2023, with my colleague Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.). Many of our HBCUs have a long history of conducting research and exchange programs with international partners, including those in Sub-Saharan Africa. By expanding these ties, with an emphasis on economic growth, the HBCU-Africa Partnership Act provides an opportunity to weaken Beijing’s leverage while empowering America’s HBCU students and researchers to find solutions to global challenges.
Read more about this legislation here.
Spilling the #SCSweetTea on the Lemonade Twins
Malia and Faith are twin entrepreneurs from Columbia, South Carolina, who started selling their own lemonade when they were just five years old. Their dream was to move beyond the lemonade stand to build their own business. Two years later, the sisters have created 20 flavors of lemonade and run their own pop-up at Columbia’s Soda City Market. From winning the 2023 BEST KID Entrepreneur Award for the Columbia Neighborhood Award to meeting with South Carolina’s Lieutenant Governor, it’s safe to say the lemonade twins’ hard work is paying off. They’re proof that taking personal responsibility and pushing through obstacles, can turn a small idea into a big success!
Learn more about the lemonade twins here!
Sincerely, | 