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NEW DSCC AD: Graham Puts Even More Military Funds at Risk After Losing Nearly $11 Million for South Carolina

Senator Graham voted to allow the president to raid millions from South Carolina military projects, now he’s refusing to prevent another cash grab

Pentagon documents revealed that without funding, servicemembers at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort “will continue to work from a significantly undersized and unsafe facility

Following Senator Lindsey Graham’s vote today to put even more funding for South Carolina military construction projects at risk, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is launching a new digital ad campaign on Facebook holding him accountable for failing to stand up for South Carolina’s military communities.

Senator Graham’s vote for President Trump’s sham emergency declaration has already cost South Carolina millions of dollars meant to replace a fire station where servicemembers are currently working at a “significantly undersized and unsafe facility.” Graham “has been among the most unapologetic” about his ongoing support for the reckless cash grab creating a “safety hazard for military families” in his state, and the Washington Post is reporting that officials are again considering diverting even more funds away from military projects across the country.

“Senator Graham helped pave the way for this harmful raid on critical military construction funding, and he just voted again to uphold this bogus emergency declaration and allow the Trump administration to keep diverting money away from South Carolina military communities,” said DSCC spokesperson Stewart Boss. “Even as the White House threatens to claw away even more money from South Carolina, Graham is so craven that he voted to double down on enabling this reckless cash grab. Our new ad campaign will continue to hold Senator Graham accountable for failing South Carolina military communities and refusing to stand up for his state’s servicemembers and military families.”

Read more about Senator Lindsey Graham’s failure to put South Carolina first:

  • Charleston Post & Courier: “President Donald Trump’s order to reallocate funds from defense projects to fund his U.S.-Mexico border wall has drained money meant to replace a fire station at a South Carolina military base. The $11 million allocation had been designated for new fire station at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Pentagon officials said last year that not replacing it could be a safety hazard for military families if not addressed.”
  • McClatchy: “the Beaufort military community will continue to rely on a fire station that the Navy determined had, as of late 2018, already “reached the end of its life expectancy” and currently poses a number of major health and safety risks for the people who work there and the military families it serves… South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from Seneca, has been among the most unapologetic about the dynamic at play. ‘I’ve talked to the Pentagon and said we’ll find a way to get the fire station but we’re gonna get the wall first,’ he said. ‘I’m okay with the decision.’”
  • USA Today Editorial: “What is happening here is wrong on many levels. For starters, most of these military projects are vital. They are not costly new weapons systems but rather the types of things that military people rely on to train, learn, get medical care and more. One might think that a reliable source of heat would be a priority for an Alaska base 200 miles from the Arctic Circle. Same for replacing a 60-year-old fire station in South Carolina that the Pentagon recently said it’s a safety hazard.”
  • Washington Post: “At Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina, the military sought funding to build a satellite fire station, without which ‘personnel . . . will continue to work from a significantly undersized and unsafe facility.’”
  • POLITICO: “Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is up for reelection in 2020 and whose state will see military money diverted for the wall, said he’s confident that the money for those projects will be restocked. ‘I’m willing to divert funding for the wall since we couldn’t get a legislative outcome we can deal with these projects later in the next budget cycle,’ Graham said. ‘But I’m willing to divert the funding and absorb some pain to get the wall moving forward.’”

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