Jan 09 2013

Graham, Gowdy Defend South Carolina Voter ID Law

Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy (South Carolina-4) today sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder renewing their request for documents pertaining to the Justice Department’s costly opposition to South Carolina’s Voter ID law.

 

Last Friday, the Washington, D.C. District Court issued a unanimous decision awarding South Carolina certain litigation costs incurred while defending its Voter ID law against a Justice Department challenge.  The case cost the State of South Carolina an estimated $3.5 million.

 

“Not only do we strongly support the Court’s decision to award costs, we request follow up on our previous letter regarding the reasons why this costly litigation occurred in the first place,” wrote Graham and Gowdy.  “If some, or all, of the costs associated with these actions could have been avoided by following the recommendation of career Voting Section experts, then we would like to know the reason why they were overruled.”

 

Full text of the letter is below and attached:

 

January 09, 2013

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

Last Friday, the D.C. District Court issued a unanimous decision awarding South Carolina certain litigation costs incurred while successfully defending its Voter ID law (Act R54) against the Department of Justice’s challenge.  In doing so, the Court reaffirmed South Carolina was the prevailing party and obtained preclearance of Act R54, marking a decisive end to the matter.  Not only do we strongly support the Court’s decision to award costs, we request follow up on our previous letter regarding the reasons why this costly litigation occurred in the first place.

On September 24, 2012, we sent you a letter regarding the Department of Justice’s objection under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to Act R54.  Our letter was prompted by a report that Justice Department political appointees ignored and overruled career Voting Section experts’ recommendations that Act R54 be approved.  In our letter, we requested “all DOJ documents regarding, discussing or otherwise relevant to the Department’s preclearance decision on the South Carolina law, including the memos recommending preclearance and any documents discussing the decision to disregard that recommendation.”

On September 28, 2012, Acting Assistant Attorney General Judith C. Appelbaum responded, declining to disclose any documents regarding internal deliberations, citing “longstanding policy and practice on the confidentiality of ongoing law enforcement matters” and “longstanding practice of not commenting . . . on pending litigation outside that setting.”  While we appreciate your departments’ adherence to confidentiality, now that this is no longer an ongoing matter we respectfully resubmit our request.

To highlight the reason for our continued interest, here are some of the actions the Justice Department and defendant-intervenors used to drive up the costs of the case, totaling nearly $3.5 million: 
  • Requiring South Carolina to produce more than 165,000 pages of documents;
  • Delaying proceedings by 120 days;
  • Litigating every element of the case, from the scheduling of depositions to the scope of document production, and even the font size in one of South Carolina’s briefs;
  • Requiring South Carolina to transcribe the audio recording of Act R54’s legislative history;

Deposing far more individuals than South Carolina (28-19), even deposing three separate witnesses for more than six hours each; and Collectively had three times the attorneys working on the case (36-11).  If some, or all, of the costs associated with these actions could have been avoided by following the recommendation of career Voting Section experts, then we would like to know the reason why they were overruled.

Accordingly, we again request all documents and communications pertaining to the Department’s decision to oppose Act R54 and pursue costly litigation, including any memos recommending preclearance and any documents discussing the decision to disregard that recommendation.  We are confident that our request does not run contrary to your policies and practices.

We look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,

Senator Lindsey O. Graham

Congressman Trey Gowdy ####

Jan 04 2013

Statement on President Obama Signing FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act

Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

Washington – U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and John McCain (R-Arizona) today issued the following statement on President Obama signing H.R. 4310, the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act:

 

“Yesterday, President Obama signed the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report, marking the 51st consecutive year of enactment for this vitally important legislation. However, in a signing statement accompanying the law, President Obama repeated his previous arguments challenging the work Congress has done to protect American taxpayers, shape national security policy, and strengthen our nation’s defense.

 

“In his signing statement, the President objects to a provision in the NDAA related to the transfer of terrorist detainees in Afghanistan. As we hand detainees over to the Afghan and third-country governments, it is entirely reasonable to assess the security threat posed by the detainees, the stability of the countries to which they will be transferred, and those countries’ willingness and ability to prosecute and detain, as required by this provision. We do not want to repeat a situation in Afghanistan like the one in Iraq last year in which the Iraqi government released Ali Musa Daqduq, the terrorist responsible for the deaths of at least five U.S. servicemen in Iraq, who has now rejoined Hezbollah in Lebanon.

 

“The President also opposes the provision requiring security certifications by the Secretary of Defense before any transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees. The provision is obviously reasonable given that the recidivism rate of detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is nearly 28 percent.

 

“The President also objects to prohibitions on the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay into the U.S., and the construction of facilities to house them in America. Recall that in 2009, the American people objected to bringing Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York City for trial. The American people do not want members of terrorist organizations brought to the United States for trial or detention.

 

“The President seems to blame these provisions for his inability to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. He has it backwards. These and similar provisions in past defense bills resulted from the Administration’s announcement of an arbitrary deadline to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January 2010 without providing a comprehensive plan to Congress that ensured our national security and the safety of the American people. That plan, to our knowledge, still does not exist.

 

“The NDAA Conference Report specifically addresses issues left unaddressed by the Administration, including requiring a comprehensive report by Secretary of Defense identifying the limited military activities that could degrade the ability of the Assad regime to use air power against rebels in Syria. The Conference Report also addresses the glaring shortcomings in diplomatic security – tragically brought to light by the loss of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 – by authorizing an increase of the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, which will support security at our embassies and consulates at locations identified by the Secretary of State to be at risk of terrorist attack.

 

“We thank our friend and colleague Chairman Levin for his distinguished leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and appreciate the hard work of all Committee members in both Houses of Congress on both sides of the aisle to make this the 51st consecutively enacted Defense Authorization bill. It provides for our troops and their families, and will improve the administration of the Department of Defense. We urge the President to see that its implementation is carried out in accordance with Congressional intent.”

 

###

Jan 01 2013

Graham Statement On Passage Of Legislation To Avoid Fiscal Cliff

Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) released the following statement on passage of legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff:

 

“Last night, the Senate passed legislation, which prevents the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts for 99 percent of Americans. Without this legislation, there will be a dramatic increase in every American’s taxes. Additionally, without this legislation, draconian cuts to our national defense will take place. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has said these cuts would be like “shooting ourselves in the head.”

 

“Finally, this legislation reverses the President’s decision to give Congress a pay raise.

 

“While it is unfortunate the President refused to discuss spending cuts in this legislation, he will not have that luxury in the upcoming debt limit debate. The debt limit debate will be our best opportunity to get a handle on the out of control spending, which will bankrupt our nation if left unaddressed.

 

“I have repeatedly made it clear I will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless we address why we are going further in debt. The time has come for the President to face up to the need to control federal spending and the growth of entitlements. If we do not change course in our spending habits, the United States will become Greece.”

 

####

Dec 18 2012

Congressional Report Details NLRB Abuse

Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1419)
Under the Obama Administration, the NLRB has become a tool of the unions and lost all semblance of being a fair, deliberative body.  The report is a stunning record of how the NLRB is connected to and actively promotes the union agenda.

Dec 17 2012

Statement on the Passing of Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye

Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham today released the following statement on the passing of Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye:

 

“Today, the Senate lost a true giant.  Senator Inouye represented with distinction the Greatest Generation.  He fought for his country with distinction, earning the Medal of Honor.  In the Senate, he fought for his causes with passion, civility and grace.  His passing is a great loss to the United States Senate and the people of Hawaii.”

 

####

Dec 12 2012

Senators' Statement on Obama Administration Recognizing Syrian Opposition Coalition

Tate Zeigler (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

Washington ­– U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) today released the following statement on the Obama Administration recognizing the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people:

 

“We commend President Obama for recognizing the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. This was an essential, and long overdue, step in the right direction for our Syria policy. But much more still needs to be done. Nearly 40,000 people have already perished, and the situation in Syria is growing more dire.

 

“We urge the President to provide the National Coalition directly with the substantial assistance it needs to succeed, including financial support and humanitarian assistance that can be distributed to communities in opposition-controlled parts of Syria. Syria is experiencing a rapidly worsening food crisis, and we must help the National Coalition to show that it can provide relief to the Syrian people.

 

“We also believe that the United States must play a far more active role in changing the military balance of power against Assad and his forces. The Syrian opposition's recent formation of a new, nationwide military command, the Supreme Military Council, presents an opportunity that we must seize to increase our support. We urge the President, in coordination with our friends and allies, to provide opposition forces in Syria that share our interests and values with weapons, training, intelligence, medical assistance, and other life-saving equipment. We also urge the President to lead an international effort to establish a no-fly zone over parts of Syria that opposition forces can control on the ground. As in Libya, a no-fly zone would provide opposition groups in Syria with the opportunity to organize, train, and equip themselves to contest the Assad regime more successfully, both politically and militarily. It is essential for the United States and our friends and allies to deny Assad the ability to use airpower to kill people indiscriminately in Syria.

 

“If the Syrian opposition is to succeed more rapidly in liberating its country, marginalizing extremist groups, and preparing to secure and govern a post-Assad Syria, the United States must play a greater role. We now have a recognized partner in the National Coalition, and we must do what it takes to help them succeed.”

 

###

 

Dec 04 2012

Graham Votes Against United Nations Disabilities Treaty

"I have serious concerns about this treaty..."

Tate Zeigler (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417


I have serious concerns about the treaty's impact on the pro-life and pro-family communities. In addition, the construct of this treaty creates a precedent that would be unhealthy for our nation. The treaty could allow individual groups to challenge sovereign governments. That's a slippery slope for the United States to go down and among the reasons I voted against this treaty. -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)



 


« First < Prev Next > Last »

Related