Kevin Bryant

SCGOP Chairman Chad Connelly today released a statement following the US House passage of the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act (H.R. 2587):

“Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that will stop the assault by the National Labor Relations Board on private business. Creating jobs should be our number one priority and I applaud the entire Republican delegation from South Carolina for standing up to Barack Obama’s administration. Led by the bill’s sponsor, South Carolina Rep. Tim Scott, House Republicans recognized the dangers imposed by the NLRB’s overreach. South Carolina Republicans call on the U.S. Senate to act swiftly in passing this job-creating bill.”

Scott Bill Protecting American Jobs Passed by House
Legislation pushed by SC delegation removes the NLRB’s ability to kill American jobs
Congressman Tim Scott’s Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act (HR 2587) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today as the first strike in House Republicans’ efforts to roll back burdensome government regulations. The legislation, which was co-sponsored by Representatives Trey Gowdy and Joe Wilson of South Carolina, passed by a bipartisan margin of 238-186 and would prevent the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from dictating the location of American jobs.
“Today’s vote is important for our entire nation, as well as for my home district in South Carolina, where the NLRB is currently pursuing an agenda which, if successful, would kill thousands of jobs,” Scott said. “By removing the NLRB’s ability to dictate where private industry creates jobs, we are preventing an unelected, Presidentially-appointed government board from pitting state against state, inserting themselves into the business decisions of private companies, and scaring away investment in our nation.”
Rep. Gowdy reinforced his position. “This bill keeps the NLRB from imposing the ‘economic death penalty’ on businesses. The NLRB has lost all pretense of objectivity and desperately needs to be reined in.”

Congressman Wilson stated, “This legislation creates a climate that promotes job growth and job creation. Organizations like the NLRB should not be allowed to dictate where private businesses can and cannot choose to create jobs in the United States. This bill protects the right of private businesses across the nation to promote job growth while acting in the best interest of their workers and shareholders.”
Scott added, “A former Chairman of the NLRB recently testified that Canadian firms have already expressed concern about doing business in the United States because of the NLRB’s recent actions taken against Boeing, crystallizing the potential effects if the NLRB is able to proceed. I hope the President takes this legislation seriously and instead of continuing to offer favors to his union campaign supporters, puts the American people first and asks the Senate to pass the Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act as soon as possible.”
Specifically, HR 2587 will amend the National Labor Relations Act to prohibit the NLRB from ordering any employer to relocate, shut down, or transfer employment under any circumstance beginning with the date of the bill’s passage. This will include cases which have not reached final adjudication. The NLRB would still have more than a dozen remedies at their disposal should they find a violation.

A year ago, President Obama jetted off to Solyndra’s California headquarters to sing its praises and tout other green energy companies his stimulus bill was funding. “The true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra,” he said. This was part of the justification for giving the solar panel company a whopping $535 million in loans. Vice President Joe Biden also promoted the loans, saying, “These jobs are gonna be permanent jobs. These are the jobs of the future. These are the green jobs. These are the jobs that won’t be exported.”

A year later, Solyndra has gone bankrupt, 1,100 workers have lost their jobs, and the FBI is investigating the half-billion dollar bust.

Solyndra proves President Obama’s investment strategy doesn’t work. Venture socialism never will. Making investments based on political goals, not competitive merit is an outdated European notion—not a successful American one.

The Obama Administration’s decisions to favor companies like Solyndra, while targeting thriving job-creators like The Boeing Company and Gibson Guitar is not only unfair, it demonstrates sheer ignorance of economic principles that have made America the most prosperous country in the history of the world.

As USA Today editorialized, “Even if Solyndra’s collapse is nothing more than good intentions gone awry — a big if — it is a cautionary tale about why government should be extremely wary about betting tax dollars on specific companies. If there’s one thing the marketplace virtually always does better than government, it’s picking individual successes in an uncertain and highly competitive business. In fact, government involvement can unfairly tilt the playing field toward one company and away from competitors.”

“Extremely wary” the president is not. The White House is defending the Solyndra loan by calling it a “high-risk, high-reward” venture and asking for even more money to hand out to favored companies and causes. Obama is now demanding that Congress pass a $450 billion bill that, if made law would create a permanent National Infrastructure Bank to fund future Solyndras of the world.

The Obama Administration shouldn’t be given another chance to attempt to pick winners and losers in the market. The government should not be permitted to micromanage the economy and decide what industries will thrive or perish. The only economic system that works is one based on free people making free decisions. Venture socialism will never produce the success that free-market capitalism has. Solyndra is proof.

fyi: our pharmacists are armed too!

It’s a little awkward to participate in religious programs as an elected official because I haven’t quite figured out how to be bold in my faith without giving people the impression that I’m a pandering politician. I guess in politics you can’t ever avoid that, but I make every attempt to be genuinely sincere. I was asked to pray in Sunday’s 9/11 remembrance “Cry Out”. Many thanks to Leslie White for the honor of getting an invitation to participate. Here’s what I was lead to say:

Heavenly Father, We thank you for your outpouring of blessings to the great state of South Carolina. We ask for wisdom, humility, and guidance for those of us in the legislature, those in the courts, and for those that serve in the executive branches of government. We thank you for our sons and daughters in uniform in the military, law enforcement, fire protection and other areas of public safety. They have chosen to put themselves in harms way to protect our freedom. Many have paid the ultimate sacrifice for us and we are grateful.

We ask that you bless the families that have lost loved ones on this day 10 years ago as our nation was under hostile attack. Please help us to show them your love and comfort whenever possible.

Father we thank you for the ultimate first responder, your son Jesus Christ. Who, being the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and image of all creation, he chose to leave his glorious throne and place himself as a sacrifice for our sins. We ask that you assist us in reflecting Jesus Christ in all we say and do with sincerity and humility. In His name we pray, Amen.