South Carolina

Columbia, S.C. - March 20, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today announced that since the White House has denied his request to use stimulus dollars to pay down state debt, he will not be seeking certification of those funds. Instead, if the General Assembly chooses to seek the funds in his place, he is asking the legislature to use other money for debt repayment so that the state does not dig itself further into a budget hole.    » read more »

March 20, 2009 -- Washington, DC — The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) today responded to a second inquiry from South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. The Governor is seeking to shift Recovery Act funds from job-creation activities to retiring other state debts.

To view the March 20, 2009, letter from OMB Director Peter Orszag, follow this link. www.whitehouse.gov/omb/press_release_docs/Sanford_317.pdf or read below:

March 20, 2009
The Honorable Mark Sanford
Governor of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29211
Dear Governor Sanford:

Thank you for your letter to the President dated March 17, 2009. The President has asked me to respond on his behalf concerning your proposed use of State Fiscal Stabilization Fund monies to pay down your State’s debt.    » read more »

March 16, 2009 -- Washington, DC – The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) today responded to an inquiry from South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. The Governor requested to use funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to reduce that state’s deficit instead of for the programs specified in the law.

The letter from OMB Director Peter Orszag is reproduced below (pdf):

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
THE DIRECTOR

March 16, 2009

The Honorable Mark Sanford
Governor of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29211

Dear Governor Sanford:    » read more »

New Analysis Ranks "Filthy 15" States by Coal Ash Produced by Proposed Plants

Washington, D.C. (March 12, 2009) -- Proposed coal plants across the United States would produce nearly 18 million tons of dangerous waste, including toxic metals, each year. Nearly 130 million tons of coal waste from existing plants is being produced annually, most of which is disposed of in largely unregulated landfills, ponds and other locations, posing serious public health and environmental risks.

According to a new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the 15 states that would be the biggest polluters -- the “Filthy 15” -- have proposals for 54 coal plants and would create nearly 14 million tons of dangerous waste.    » read more »

Governor To Ask White House For Waiver To Pay Down State Liabilities

Columbia, S.C. - March 11, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today announced his decision on seeking roughly $700 million in stimulus money under his discretion, saying he will ask for a waiver from the White House so that the stimulus money can be used to pay down the state’s debts and contingent liabilities.

Governor Sanford has opposed the federal stimulus package because he doesn’t believe we should spend money we don’t have, because we shouldn’t pass on a substantial bill for today’s government services on to future generations, and because the massive run-up in government spending could devalue the American dollar.    » read more »

Comptroller General Eckstrom To Chair Group Overseeing Stimulus Implementation

Columbia, S.C. - March 12, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today announced a new task force charged with overseeing the expenditure of stimulus money in South Carolina.    » read more »

Columbia, S.C. - March 10, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today announced that he has completed his review of the stimulus legislation, and will on Wednesday outline his position and course of action. The details of that announcement will be released later today.

The stimulus law gives Gov. Sanford the ability to authorize the use of roughly $700 million in stimulus funding. In correspondence with the General Assembly, the governor has said he believes it unwise to use this temporary source of funding to pay for ongoing needs.    » read more »

Columbia, S.C. - February 11, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today announced his opposition to a proposed coal-fired power plant to be built by Santee-Cooper in Florence County, saying that projections related to the need for the plant need to be revisited, along with the potential for harm to the state’s environment.    » read more »

Statement of David Arkush, Director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division

Feb. 10, 2009 -- "South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint’s attempt to undermine the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act by amending the economic stimulus package fortunately never came to fruition. Lawmakers should block any more attempts to change the product safety law.

DeMint’s proposal, never voted on, would have unnecessarily exempted some businesses from the new safety regulations and would have allowed retailers to keep selling products that contain dangerous levels of lead. Empirical evidence links lead to permanent brain damage in children.    » read more »

Governor Says Agency’s Lack Of Attention To Trust Fund Demonstrates Need For Audit, Further Reform

Columbia, S.C. - January 22, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today called for an expedited audit of the state’s Employment Security Commission (ESC), after they more than doubled from $146 million to $316 million their loan request from only three weeks ago. The governor also released a letter he is sending to the ESC’s commissioners today, calling for jobless data to be shared on an expedited timeline, or else he would remove the Commissioners from office.    » read more »

August 09, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Master Sgt. Danny E. Maybin, 47, of Columbia, South Carolina, died Aug. 7 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, as the result of a non-combat related incident.

He was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Ga.

The incident is under investigation.

Source: DOD

WASHINGTON, Friday, July 18, 2008 -- Jesus Perez-Laguna, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today in federal court in Columbia, S.C., on charges stemming from a sex trafficking ring involving at least one teenage girl. Perez-Laguna was sentenced to over 14 years imprisonment and ordered to pay $52,500 in restitution to his victims. After his release from prison, Perez-Laguna will be on federal supervised release for the rest of his life.

As a condition of supervised release, U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson ordered that Perez-Laguna be surrendered to immigration officials for deportation proceedings and further ordered that Perez-Laguna not return to the United States while on supervised release.    » read more »

June 13, 2008 -- Attempts by West Virginia to enter into a concealed handgun reciprocity agreement with South Carolina have been unsuccessful. Inconsistencies between the two states’ laws precluded and agreement. As a consequence, West Virginia concealed handgun licenses are not honored in South Carolina. This would appear to have changed with the passage by the South Carolina General Assembly of H.B. 3212.    » read more »

May 27, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. David L. Leimbach, 38, of Taylors, South Carolina, died May 25 near Bala Baluk, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry, South Carolina Army National Guard, Fountain Inn, S.C., and attached to the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition), New York Army National Guard.

Source: DOD

ARLINGTON, Va. (05/12/2008) - National Guard members in four states were called out by their governors to assist civil authorities May 12 after tornados crossed the Southwest May 10 and flooding on the Delaware coast left communities in need of emergency assistance.

Arkansas Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Lucas Jennings discusses tornado response missions in Arkansas: Arkansas National Guard photo

Since May 7, the National Weather Service has confirmed at least 42 tornados in the southern Plains and the southeastern and middle Atlantic regions of the nation with the strongest tornado recorded May 10 as an F-4. It developed from a super cell storm that tracked through three states.    » read more »