During a press conference in Washington, Senator Lindsey Graham discussed his bipartisan resolution ruling out containing a nuclear-armed Iran and stressed the importance of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Click here to read Senator Graham’s press release discussing the Iran Resolution.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today introduced a resolution that puts the Senate on record as ruling out a strategy of containment for a nuclear-armed Iran. The bipartisan resolution currently has 27 Senate cosponsors.

“I’m very pleased the Senate will speak with a strong, unified voice that a nuclear-armed Iran is an unacceptable option for our own national security and the security of our allies throughout the world,” said Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “My resolution will afford every Senator the opportunity to speak on this issue and I expect a strong bipartisan vote in support. Having a political consensus between the White House and Congress that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable is a giant step forward in sending an important message at a critical time.”

The Graham resolution:

• Strongly rejects any policy that fails to prevent the Iranian government from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability and would settle for future efforts to “contain” a nuclear weapons capable Iran.
• Urges President Obama to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability and oppose any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian nuclear threat.
• Urges continued and increasing economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran until they agree to the full and sustained suspension of all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, complete cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on all outstanding questions related to their nuclear activities including implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Additional Protocol, and the verified end of their ballistic missile programs.

“It’s obvious to most people that once Iran obtains nuclear capability others in the region will respond in kind,” said Graham. “A nuclear-armed Iran also makes it exponentially more likely this information could fall into the hands of terrorist organizations.”

“I believe, to some extent, sanctions are working and believe they can be successful in helping turn around Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” said Graham. “However it is imperative the Russian and Chinese assist the international community in changing Iranian behavior.

“Finally, as President Obama said in his State of the Union address, ‘All options must remain on the table’ when it comes to stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” concluded Graham.

Co-sponsors of the Graham resolution include: Senators John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts), Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), Dan Coats (R-Indiana), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Dean Heller (R-Nevada), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut), Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), John McCain (R-Arizona), Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland), Bill Nelson (D-Florida), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas), James E. Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), and Chuck Schumer (D-New York).

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Click here to watch the video of Senator Graham Discussing the Iran Resolution.

Two major steps forward on the course to deepening Charleston’s harbor in the past week highlight the work of South Carolina’s political leadership — led by Sen. Lindsey Graham — and offer hope that the Port of Charleston will be able to accommodate the super-size ships that soon will be able to navigate the Panama Canal.

Every step forward on this project represents hope for the economy of South Carolina and the region. This state’s economy depends on a Port of Charleston that can receive and deliver goods around the world no matter how big the ship that carries them. News on Monday that President Barack Obama has included $3.5 million in his latest budget to fund the port deepening study demonstrates increasing acceptance that the region’s and even the nation’s economy will be affected by this port’s ability to accept the new “Post Panamax” container ships that will proliferate on the eastern seaboard after 2014.

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Graham avoided the earmarks controversy for this year by helping craft a special port projects fund out of which the Corps of Engineers took the $2.5 million for the year’s portion of the feasibility study. Obama’s decision to put the $3.5 million in funding in his budget avoids the earmark issue because any money in the president’s budget can be appropriated by Congress without being called an earmark, Graham said.

In that sense, the appropriation isn’t a guarantee that the funding will be in place for next year. That’s especially true given the contention that’s likely to surround Congress’ debate over the president budget. That said, having the funding in the presidential budget makes the process easier than it has been.

There is a lot of heavy lifting that remains on this issue, both next year and in the foreseeable future. However, if the state’s leadership continues to make its case the way it has over the past two years, the chances of finishing this project are greatly improved.

The congressional delegation, led by Graham and joined by others such as Riley, has done an admirable job keeping this issue at the fore. Without their hard work, this project would not be moving forward as it is. Their continued diligence is needed to keep the project on track or even accelerate the time line.

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Senator Lindsey Graham was a guest on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront where he discussed the increasingly violent situation in Syria and the need for President Bashar al-Assad to be removed from power.

Senator Lindsey Graham appeared on Fox News ‘America’s Newsroom,’ where he stressed the importance of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Graham also discussed his bipartisan resolution ruling out containment of a nuclear armed Iran.

“I hope we can avoid a nuclear armed Iran,” Graham said during the interview. “If we don’t, we will regret it.”

During a Senate Armed Services committee hearing, Senator Graham questioned Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and General Martin E. Dempsey, Charmain of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on cyber security threats from China, Department of Defense budget cuts, and the United States’ role in Afghanistan.

During a Budget Committee hearing, Senator Lindsey Graham questioned Office of Management and Budget Interim Director Jeffrey Zients on the President’s 2013 budget proposal and lack of solutions to solve our long term fiscal problems. Graham specifically asked questions on the President’s plan to make Social Security solvent, and whether or not there were Medicare subsidies for millionaires in the President’s budget.

By Paul Bowers

Sen. Lindsey Graham held a conference call Monday to praise President Barack Obama’s inclusion of $3.5 million for a Charleston harbor-deepening study in his proposed 2013 budget. Sen. Graham thanked the president for the budget item, which he said would prevent his having to earmark the funds, but harshly criticized the rest of the $3.8 trillion budget.

“The president’s budget as a whole is more a political document than it is a solution,” said Graham, an Upstate Republican. He added that most of the proposed budget is “not going anywhere,” even in the Democratic-majority Senate.

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Sen. Graham, who is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he was confident that the $3.5 million allocation would survive even during a hotly contested election-year budget process. “I think everybody in the House knows how important it is,” Graham said. “And I’d hate to be the House member that told me no.”

The bigger obstacle, he said, will be securing the remaining funds for the completion of the deepening project, which he said could total as much as $300 million.

“This is good news for 2013,” he said, “but we’ve got a long way to go.”

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Senator Graham’s comments on this article: “This is a major step on the road to a nuclear renaissance. NRC approval allows us to move forward in building new reactors for the first time in more than 30 years. When it comes to the development of nuclear power, America has been sleeping like Rip Van Winkle, plus another ten years. I am hopeful SCANA and Santee Cooper will be the next in line to receive permits for Jenkinsville, S.C.”

By Matthew Daly, Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation won approval Thursday as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors at a site in eastern Georgia.

Atlanta-based Southern Co. hopes to begin operating the $14 billion reactors at its Vogtle site south of Augusta as soon as 2016. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the company’s plans on a 4-1 vote.

The NRC last approved construction of a nuclear plant in 1978, a year before a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. After that accident, fears of a radiation release were heightened and new reactor orders were brought nearly to a halt.

The planned reactors, along with two others in South Carolina expected to win approval in coming months, are the remnants of a once-anticipated building boom that the power industry dubbed the “nuclear renaissance.” The head of an industry lobbying group said the Vogtle project could be the start of a smaller renaissance that expands nuclear power in the United States.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said he was very pleased the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had voted 4-1 today to approve the nations’ first nuclear reactor construction permits in more than three decades.

Graham has a long record in support of nuclear energy.

“This is a major step on the road to a nuclear renaissance in the United States. NRC approvals will allow us to move forward as a nation in building new reactors for the first time in more than 30 years. When it comes to the development of nuclear power, America has been sleeping like Rip Van Winkle, plus another ten years.

“Now that Southern Company has gotten the green light for the new Vogtle facility, I am hopeful SCANA and Santee Cooper will be the next in line to receive permits for Jenkinsville. I will continue to do everything in my power to keep the next generation of nuclear power on track and moving forward in the United States.”

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