| Dear fellow South Carolinians,
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Recent Legislation
Integration of Baseball Commemoration Act
Last Tuesday, I joined Sen. Booker to reintroduce the Integration of Baseball Commemoration Act, authorizing the United States Mint to produce a coin honoring the 75th anniversary of the integration of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Throughout modern history, many Americans have turned to our national pastime to celebrate the ideals that define us as a people: hard work, perseverance, and a fierce determination to succeed. I am honored to pay tribute to the bravery of those baseball legends who, through sports, broke the color line and provided a blueprint for integration through all aspects of society. You can read more here.
PAID Act
On Wednesday, I joined Sen. Cardin to introduce the Provide Accurate Information Directly (PAID) Act to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide information directly to non-health insurers when settling overlapping claims of Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers. Non-health insurers include liability, workers compensation, and no fault (auto) insurers, as well as self-insured entities such as large retailers, grocers and supermarket chains, the hospitality industry, and many others.
For years, taxpayers have been financially burdened by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ lack of ability to provide information to non-health insurers. Through this new reporting system, those responsible, who for years have wanted to repay Medicare payments, will now be able to do so, leading to millions of dollars returning to the federal government. You can read more here.
Student Loan Disclosure Modernization Act
On Thursday, I joined Sen. Manchin to introduce the Student Loan Disclosure Modernization Act, which seeks to increase transparency for those looking to acquire student loans on a federal level. The goal is to provide applicants with a clear and succinct disclosure form to avoid leading prospective borrowers astray. The disclosure form, which clearly outlines the costs and terms of potential loans, strives to empower loan applicants to be responsible borrowers.
Loan transparency and financial literacy is a bipartisan issue - in South Carolina alone, 60% of graduates face student debt after finishing their degree. By giving those seeking higher education more tools to see what their student borrowing really means, we can remove some of the uncertainty that they face after graduation. You can read more about the bill here.
Passage of the NDAA
The U.S. military is the world’s finest. In a time of so much uncertainty, it is imperative that our armed forces are fully funded and well-equipped to deter any threat and defend the homeland. I’m glad we successfully passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2020 last week.
In South Carolina specifically, I’m glad that we secured the resources needed to move forward with plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site (SRS)—another important element of the SRS’s mission. I also helped secure many other South Carolina specific provisions, which can be found here.
Service Academy Nominations
Applications for 2019 Service Academy Nominations are now open. I look forward to reviewing the applications of the many students from around the state wishing to commit to this highest level of service! I will be accepting applications for Service Academy Nominations through Friday, October 18th at 5PM. For more information, visit my website here.
Sincerely,
Tim | 