Press release from the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

In today’s (10-11-09) New York Times, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham co-authored an opinion editorial outlining his support for comprehensive climate change legislation (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11kerrygraham.html?th&emc=th).

The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce applauds Senator Graham’s position of creating a bipartisan effort to develop “a framework for climate legislation to pass Congress and the blueprint for a clean-energy future that will revitalize our economy, protect current jobs and create new ones, safeguard our national security and reduce pollution.”

Since 2007, the Small Business Chamber has been an advocate for climate change legislation that would protect our state’s small business tourism industry from the negative consequences of global warming: rising sea levels destroying our beaches, barrier islands, ocean-front structures and landmarks (http://www.scsbc.org/view_press.asp?id=241).

We have also clearly called for climate change legislation that will jump-start our economy with new jobs. As president and CEO of the Small Business Chamber, I personally appeared in a 2008 television ad along with the CEO’s of Deere & Company and Eaton Corporation promoting the job-creation benefits of climate change legislation
(http://www.scsbc.org/default.asp).

While all businesses are concerned about the cost of energy, it is clear that Congressional “in-action” coupled with Environmental Protection Agency “action” will result in much higher future energy costs without the benefits of investments and regulatory changes to transition our country to a less costly, more secure, job-producing and environmentally-protecting energy future.

Senator Lindsey Graham’s leadership on this issue is critical for success.