Bipartisanship in the House? Yes
Recently, 29 Democrats and 28 Republicans joined hands to reconstitute the House Climate Solutions Caucus. Our own Nancy Mace is on board in her latest in a long line of worthy bipartisan moves. If the climate (pun intended) in the House is anything as it appears, these 57 are showing welcome fortitude. The Caucus intends to meet climate change with sound science and economics. An aim at least as difficult as it is important.
According to Co-Chairs Republican Andrew R. Garbarino (N.Y.) and Democrat Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), their first task will be permitting reform for energy projects. If South Carolina is to continue to enjoy our current rate of economic development in EV manufacturing, advanced battery production and many other sectors, we need increased electric power that is secure affordable and clean.
Today approval of new energy projects takes years with renewables (the cleanest, most affordable and secure power sources) at the back of the line. Proposed new transmission lines are the worst victims of the current bureaucracy taking 10 years to get underway. Increased power production isn’t worth much without a way to get where it’s needed.
If you are concerned about climate change, as I am, this tangle of red raises the specter of disastrous delays. If you are more interested in economic development right now, surely you find the current red tape unacceptable. It’s essential members of Congress work across the aisle for permitting reform that speeds up the approval of clean energy projects and protects the health and safety of American people and communities. We can each do our part by encouraging our leaders to work together and find the critical common ground we all must share.
Please write Nancy Mace at mace@mail.house.gov. and thank her for stepping up for all of us.
– Tim Joy, Chapter Leader, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Beaufort
Freedom is not free
Seventy years ago on July 27, 1953, an Armistice was signed which brought a halt to the war in Korea. Technically, it did not end the war. It just meant “everyone stop shooting at each other.”
Now is a time to remember and honor America’s servicemen and women who gave their lives to bring freedom to people they did not know, in a country far away. The words, “Freedom is Not Free” are engraved on the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C., where our fallen heroes are remembered for their sacrifice in defense of freedom in South Korea.
A Wall of Remembrance was added to this memorial in July 2022; on it are engraved the names of the 36,574 who lost their lives during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The Korean War Veterans Association (KWVA) invites you to visit the Korean War Memorial online at https://www.defense.gov/koreanwarmem. Another website you may wish to view is the Korean War Project (https://koreanwarproject.org). It lists American war dead from the Korean War by name, hometown and state; whether killed in action (KIA), missing in action (MIA), or prisoner of war (POW); and history of each unit’s involvement in this war, plus much more.
Please take the time to think of the servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom, not only during the Korean War, but all wars. Honor and remember them. Freedom is not free.
– Charlotte M. Ayers, Beaufort. Ayers, a Korean War-era USMC veteran, is the Founder and Past President of Chap 303 of the KWVA and was Director of the National KWVA from 2007-2010.
