Graham to gab at Winthrop on Thursday

By Jonathan McFadden
mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

Update: Check out our report on Senator Grahams visit here

One of the state's leading Republicans who vocally opposed the compromise that raised the debt ceiling and quieted the nation's fiscal feud last week will speak on campus Thursday.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was first elected in 2002 and then re-elected in 2008, will discuss the nation's recent debt war and the state of the U.S. economy, as well as field questions about national security.

During the weeks-long fiscal showdown, Graham voted against the debt-limit resolution.

Graham had been quoted as saying the deal will only “lock” the nation in more debt, “bigger government” and weaken the nation's Defense infrastructure.

He also said the deal would help the nation “walk toward bankruptcy,” and referred to the proposed reductions as “small.”

President Barack Obama and congressional leaders came to a settlement on July 31, two days before the nation was in danger of defaulting.

The first phase of the deal includes nearly $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, much of that funding cut from defense. Other reductions include education, housing and transportation; Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security have been spared.

The historic resolution also mandated the assembling of a dozen congressional leaders tasked with figuring out what to do with a second series of cuts, amounting to $1.5 trillion, by Nov. 23.

On Aug. 1, the House of Representatives voted to approve the deal's first stage. The Senate followed suit the next day.

Five South Carolina Republican leaders voted against the deal's approval, Graham included, all arguing that it didn't do enough to limit government spending.

In the Senate, Graham serves on the appropriations committee, which oversees and authorizes the expenditure of “every dollar in the Federal Treasury,” according to his website.

The event on Thursday is in the DiGiorgio Student Center from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.