(Washington, DC) – Today, Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) introduced H.R. 4625, the Yucca Utilization to Control Contamination Act (YUCCA).

In 2002, President George W. Bush approved Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the location for our nation’s nuclear repository, which was previously authorized by Congress in 1987. In 2010, President Obama zeroed out the funding for the project. The proposed legislation requires the President to certify Yucca Mountain as the designated site for our country’s high-level radioactive waste repository. If the Administration fails to follow through, it enacts the following penalties:

1) Utility Companies across the country will no longer be forced to make payments to the Nuclear Trust Fund.

2) The utility company will receive the deposits it has contributed to the Nuclear Trust Fund (75% of those funds will be used to reduce rates for ratepayers and 25% will be used for infrastructure improvement).

3) No later than January 1, 2017, Defense Waste MUST begin to be moved to Yucca Mountain. If this requirement is not met, the Department of Energy will be required to pay up to $100 million a year to the states holding the waste.

Wilson stated, “Over the past twenty-nine years, South Carolinians have paid over $1.3 billion dollars for the establishment of a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain, making our state the third highest contributor. The President’s decision to cut this project is another prime example of how this Administration continues to put party politics over sound policy. In efforts to keep the government accountable, I have introduced legislation requiring the President to follow through with the Yucca Mountain project. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure the people of South Carolina receive the services they have already paid for with hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”

Employees of Graniteville Specialty Fabrics received a visit Wednesday from Congressman Joe Wilson, who toured the facility and saw firsthand the innovative and historic contributions the facility has made that are now used worldwide.

The facility, which began as the Specialty Fabrics Division of The Graniteville Company in 1947 and was renamed Graniteville Specialty Fabrics in 2006, is a manufacturer of specialized fabric for a variety of uses, many for military purposes.

“The history of this institution really goes back,” Wilson told a group of employees. “This is the beginning of the textile industry in our state, which is still very, very important to the people of South Carolina.”

Wilson said the model set by companies like Graniteville Specialty Fabrics have paved the way for companies, like Bridgestone, which are expanding and creating an economic boost for the local economy, but expressed his concern over losing manufacturing to foreign businesses.

The company’s president, Jim Egan, met with Wilson in Washington, D.C., last week in his role on the board of directors with the United States Industrial Fiber Institute discussing the Berry Amendment, under which many items obtained for the Department of Defense are to be made in the United States.

During the visit, Wilson said he would like to visit the Graniteville facility.

“I think it was a very good opportunity for the employees to actually see their Congressman and, more importantly, our opportunity to show our industry off to the congressman to let him know we are alive and well and we are competitive,” Egan said. “I think the congressman is very concerned about the loss of our manufacturing base in the United States, and it’s nice to just show him a company that is surviving and hanging in there and hopefully continuing to grow and prosper.”

Egan and other facility personnel showed Wilson and his staff the processes that happens at the facility, from creating and testing fabric coating to be used in military uniforms and tents for weather and safety purposes, to creating fabric for use as boat covers, air craft needs, and even everyday items like ironing boards and media signage.

The Graniteville facility is also the original creator of the first striped awning, developed in 1933. Previously, solid awnings were simply painted with a brush to create the striping. The facility also developed tents used in the Persian Gulf War and made sandbags during the Vietnam War.

Wilson said what intrigued him most is how companies throughout the state work together. The Graniteville facility uses products in its processes that are produced by Clariant Corporation in Allendale County, part of the district that Wilson currently represents.

“I’ve been a strong proponent of the Clariant Corporation that makes specialty inks and dyes and that is used here in the process with specialty fabrics,” Wilson said. “It’s really encouraging to me to see companies that are within the Congressional district and within South Carolina working together, and it just really gives me a real feel of what I can do to promote these industries.”

Source: Aiken Standard

And here the government is saying that the Federal Government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act, and that is different from what we have in previous cases and that changes the relationship of the Federal Government to the individual in the very fundamental way.

Exactly.

The commerce clause does not give the federal government unrestrained power over the economy or the economic decisions of Americans. To compel Americans without health insurance to enter this market opens up a dangerous precedent that can extend to even burial insurance, as noted by Justice Alito earlier this week.

I’m proud to have voted against ObamaCare. I’ve voted for repealing ObamaCare. I’ve voted to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board that could ration healthcare, particularly for seniors and the disabled.

Whether the Supreme Court upholds or rejects ObamaCare, Congress can still and must repeal the law in its entirety. And we have to ensure that we send strong leaders to Congress who will advocate for this issue.

With just four days left in this fundraising quarter, will you donate to the campaign today?

I will continue to fight against ObamaCare and its dangerous effects on our economy, our jobs, and our freedoms.

Donate $5, $10, or $20 now to help the campaign. Our primary is on June 12, and I need your help to make sure that this fundraising quarter is a success. Donate now.

Let’s repeal ObamaCare together,

Joe

“Our nation’s economy is broken. President Obama and his liberal allies in the Senate continue to tax and spend. This will only put us further in debt. With an unemployment rate of over eight percent for the past three years and a growing deficit of over fifteen trillion dollars, it is necessary for South Carolinians to send effective leaders to Washington who will stand up for our founding father’s values and put our great nation back on the path to prosperity.”

“I am committed to standing up for the people of South Carolina’s Second Congressional District by fighting to cut Washington’s out of control spending and promoting a conservative, private sector growth plan to create jobs. Over the coming months, I look forward to visiting with and seeking the support of the citizens of the Second District.”

What: Campaign Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting

When: Friday, March 16th, at 10am

Where: 636 Sunset Boulevard, West Columbia, SC