Official Statement from Lieutenant Governor André Bauer

Clearly the events of the last week have been emotionally difficult for everyone involved.

Mark Sanford now has some painful issues to resolve with his sons and his wife. I appreciate his plea for a zone of privacy around his family. I came from a broken family. I absolutely understand the trauma and confusion his sons are feeling, because when I was 10 years old the same pain rocked my life.

I assure you that Mark’s children need their father, and especially his reassurance that they will always enjoy a special place in his heart.

Even as we give Mark some space on his family issues, we must press ahead at the problems that are vexing all the families in our state.

We must stay focused on the big picture, which is the need to produce jobs and prosperity for our people in South Carolina.

Double digit unemployment, combined with fewer job opportunities, demands the best of our government.

All of our government. All of the time.

These are real issues that require answers – answers I am committed to finding – and it is where I am urging my esteemed colleagues in the Legislature – Democrat and Republican -- to apply their focus.

As far as the issue of the Governor is concerned, we do have lots of questions – and the people are deserving of answers. We have constitutional questions – we need to ensure there is never any doubt over who is responsible for the safety of our citizens at any given time.

There are questions about how tax dollars and resources are spent and have been spent – and why. Fair and complete answers will restore confidence in our government

And finally -- there are questions – legitimate ones – about where we go from here.

However, do not look to me to be engaging or joining in calls one way or the other as they relate to Governor Sanford.

From my perspective it’s simply counterproductive. My focus is on my responsibilities, and what I can do to help our state – and our citizens -- as we struggle to revive our great state, recover our pride, and begin moving forward.

Lt. Governor Bauer Challenges Seniors to Choose Health and a Longer Life

Lt. Governor André Bauer will kick off the Lt. Governor’s Challenge with a wellness walk at Haywood Mall in Greenville on Friday, April 24 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in America. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, heart disease risk is lowered by as much as 82% simply by adopting sensible health habits.

“You can choose healthy habits to help prevent cardiovascular disease: eat a healthy diet, get regular physical activity, and maintain a healthy weight. You can see heart healthy results in as little as eight to ten weeks,” said Lt. Governor André Bauer. “Your heart is in your hands, and you can make a difference. That is why I am encouraging people to join me in taking on the Lt. Governors’ Challenge and a chance at a healthier, longer life.”

The Lieutenant Governors’ Challenge is part of a nationwide program sponsored by the National L. Governor’s Association. Participants in the 12-week program earn points by doing everyday activities like walking or housework. Each person who meets the point goals receives a medal.

In South Carolina, the Challenge it will include both an online, interactive program for individuals to plan, track, and gain rewards from new nutrition and fitness choices, and a series or wellness walks held in area malls. The wellness walks will also feature free health screenings, information of healthy living and special discounts for seniors at certain retailers on the day of the event.

“Today I am issuing a new challenge not just to seniors, but all residents of South Carolina. The Lieutenant Governors’ Challenge will help people learn about ways to eat better, reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and assist them in tracking their progress towards better health,” Bauer said.

Lieutenant Governor Bauer has partnered with the South Carolina chapters of the American Heart Association and Arthritis Foundation, local hospitals and the South Carolina Aging Network to help promote the Lieutenant Governor’s Challenge and heart health education.

Lt. Governor André Bauer Receives Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging’s Regional Impact Award

Lt. Governor André Bauer is the recipient of the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging’s Regional Impact Award, which is awarded to a public policy maker who has made “an observable and measurable impact on the quality of life of older adults.”

Lt. Governor Bauer was cited for his leadership in establishing the Geriatrician Loan Forgiveness program, which has attracted 14 board certified physician specialists to South Carolina over the past three years. He was also noted for creating the Seniors Cube data warehouse to aid policymakers in decisions on the demographic issues presented by the Baby Boomers, and the new Senior Shield program to protect seniors from fraud.

Lt. Governor André Bauer to Lead Trade Mission to the United Arab Emirates

(Columbia, S.C.) - Lieutenant Governor André Bauer will lead an economic development mission to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) March 21 – March 27, 2009. Joining the Lt. Governor on this mission will be Representative Todd Rutherford, officials from the S.C. Department of Commerce and business leaders from across the state.

The trade mission is designed to promote South Carolina exports to the U.A.E. and strengthen existing investments from the Middle Eastern confederation. South Carolina is already one of the top ten states in exports to the U.A.E., which has been diversifying investments outside of the petroleum industry over the last several years. Jafza International, a Dubai based company is currently developing a 1,300 acre business park with a warehouse and transportation hub in Orangeburg county.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead another trade mission on behalf of the Palmetto State,” Bauer said. “During challenging economic times it is vital that we do everything we can to increase exports and foreign investment. South Carolina already has strong ties with the U.A.E. and I want to help insure that our trade and business partnership is expanded to bring new jobs to our state.”

The Lt. Governor and local government representatives will be meeting with the Executive Council of Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority among others during the trade mission.

“I will be using private funds cover my expenses during the trade mission as I have every time I have traveled abroad on state business,” Bauer said. “The taxpayers are already footing enough of the government’s bills these days. In fact, I am using my mandatory furlough days to serve South Carolina on the trade mission.”

Prime rib for California, a salad for South Carolina

By André Bauer
Lt. Governor of South Carolina

As a fiscal conservative I am not a fan of the current “economic stimulus” bill, however, it is hard to ignore the awful possibility that South Carolina taxpayers could wind up stuck in the salad bar after paying full price for a prime rib buffet.

For openers let me be clear: I support our Governor’s attempt to use additional stimulus money to repay debt. It’s a wise and good use of funds that positions us well for the future.

Clearly, Governor Sanford believes he is doing the right thing, and I don’t for a minute doubt his intentions. This is someone who time and time again has fought for the taxpayers.

But here is where I disagree. If the Administration turns down the Governor’s request, I cannot in good conscience allow South Carolina taxpayers to fund benefits for the other 49 states.

The issue is that my constituents in Seneca are as needy as residents of Sacramento. The same goes for the citizens of Aiken vs. the taxpayers of Austin, or the jobless in Chapin as opposed to the unemployed in Chicago. Whether you live in Beaufort or Biloxi, Spartanburg or Spokane, New Ellenton or New York, Dillon or Denver, the issue is that people are in need and if stimulus is purchased with your dollars, the stimulus ought to be available to you. Why send the money and jobs elsewhere? That is the key point. Citizens in South Carolina, their children and grandchildren, have already been stuck with the bill. Why then punish us now -- when the need is the greatest?

The place we find ourselves is not a reflection of how Mark Sanford believes he is right to exclude more appealing options. The reality is that this developing spat is rooted in the fact that Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, and Chris Dodd sparked a housing crisis by pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make sub-prime loans -- no matter how hard Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham opposed them.

The basic issue is that some people want something for nothing, and politicians respond to constituent demands for pork barrel projects -- that's the heartfelt view of Mark Sanford, who has and will continue to say no. And he is right. But the trouble is that for so many of us, it is easier to dress that up and say that elected officials should fight so that the people who elect them have jobs and are able to feed and educate their children.

So, which is the more principled choice: Say no, pay for prime rib and eat lettuce; or, address the fact that real people are hurting in a state where more than 10% are unemployed, 40% of the kids are on Medicaid, and everyone is watching as their life savings are slashed in half?

The truth is that we are in an economic war, and all resources should be focused on beating this new "enemy" which is killing our jobs and our savings and our futures. Like all wars, when you find yourself in one, fight for your life first and argue principles later. Like they say, there are no atheists in foxholes, and no time for academic political debate there either.

Is this war? Opinion leaders are beginning to conclude that America is indeed in the equivalent of a war footing when it comes to dealing with this economic crisis. Warren Buffett was the first to say it earlier this week. Then yesterday, the New York Times' Tom Friedman declared, "Economically, this is the big one. This is August 1914. This is the morning after Pearl Harbor. This is 9/12." And the Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein added, "What we are facing is the economic equivalent of a war."

All three pundits posed the same question: If we're at war, then why aren't people acting like it? Why isn't the Obama administration, instead of trying to score hits on Rush Limbaugh, doing everything it can to develop a clear and transparent plan to fix the banking crisis? Why are folks on Wall Street engaged in short-selling -- i.e., betting against the economy?

And why is the press covering all of this like a political campaign or expecting that, on Day 52, Obama should have already been able to turn the economy around? Associate Editor David Ignatius of the Washington Post also makes this point: "The culture of immobilism starts on Capitol Hill. These people are still working a four-day week, taking Fridays off so they can run home and tell constituents how diligent they are. They may talk about a crisis, but they don't act like it's real."

It’s real people. It’s very real to 227,986 South Carolinians without a job and having to learn the ins and outs and humiliations of the unemployment lines.

Let’s face it: Washington has failed miserably. As leaders, we must make the best of bad policy. We’ve never experienced anything like this in our lifetimes. It is time to make the tough decision. The principle of winning the war wins the argument.

Lt. Gov. Bauer Asks Senate to Support Senior Meals Program

Lt. Governor André Bauer requested that a Senate Finance sub-committee writing the 2009-2010 budget join with him to shield South Carolina’s seniors from further budget cuts.

Like all state agencies, the Lt. Governor’s Office took significant mid-year budget cuts and is now operating at 77% of the funding appropriated for the fiscal year that began July 1. Almost three-fourths of the $1.1 million cuts to the Lt. Governor’s Office were taken at the state level, with the remainder shared among the 10 Area Agencies on Aging. All state staff, including Lt. Governor Bauer, will take 10 days of unpaid leave. Vacant positions are being left unfilled, office space reduced to lower rent payments, and three staff were laid off.

“We are not asking for special consideration for seniors, what we are asking is to have our current level of funding maintained. Through good stewardship and being fiscally conservative we have avoided cutting services to our most vulnerable citizens for the most part – given another round of cuts though, a reduction of services will be unavoidable,” Bauer said.

Members of the sub-committee acknowledged the advances that have been made in senior services under Bauer’s leadership and indicated that they would take the impact of further cuts into consideration.

It was indicated that the $2.9 million in supplemental funds earmarked to provide in-home services for nearly 6,000 seniors could not be guaranteed in the upcoming budget. The supplemental funding reaches seniors not normally served under state and federal dollars and if the funding is not renewed in the budget, these services will end on June 30.

The proposed budget approved earlier this legislative session by the House Ways and Means Committee maintained 2009-2010 funding for the Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging at the current 77% level minus about $8,000 for cuts to travel. It did not provide for continued supplemental funding, although it contained a proviso that required the Governor’s Office to provide matching funds should any elderly nutritional program be funded under the economic stimulus.

Lt. Governor Bauer’s prepared remarks:

We have a decidedly unambitious and unaggressive wish list this year.

Our hope is to maintain service levels at what they are.

We recognize the reality of the economic downturn, and are prepared to go into next year with a 23% cut in our base.

We are re-examining our clients, ensuing that the most vulnerable are least impacted by the cuts.

We urge careful consideration of continuing our $2.9 million meals on wheels program. One $6 meal a day can provide a frail senior the strength and the balance that prevents a fall that otherwise would lead to a $25,000 hospital stay or a $50,000 nursing home bed.

Our goal continues to be to enable people to remain at home where they want to be and that cost taxpayers less money.

Nevertheless, our senior population is doubling, and feels an undue impact from the current economic situation. Many are on fixed incomes, others have lost a sizeable portion of their savings, few can return to the work place.

It seems to me that all of this presents an opportunity to think about reorganization of state government.

We ought to be thinking about restructuring more in terms of grouping agencies and programs that involve the direct delivery of services to seniors.

Right now we have several agencies procuring almost identical meals, for example, using different procurement mechanisms, and funding streams – and paying different prices for meals delivered to clients of different programs who look very much alike.

We need to think about how to save money, how to better coordinate services, how to end fragmentation and duplication.

I have asked my staff to begin working on a program to restructure the delivery of senior services from all the different agencies, and moving all deliveries of all senior services into the Office on Aging.

I believe this restructuring will accomplish two things:

1. Reduce costs, and

2. Improve the delivery of services.

I expect to have a proposal for your consideration in the very near future.

Getting serious about governmental transparency

By Lt. Governor André Bauer

In the face of continuing news reports of lost, found, and stolen state funds, I am unveiling the Lieutenant Governor’s Office transparency initiative that can be quickly adopted at little cost by all state agencies, giving taxpayers an unprecedented view of state finances.

As a true conservative I believe that the people, the voters, the taxpayers, my constituents, have an absolute right to know how state government is handling their finances.

Therefore I am as shocked as any other taxpayer to hear about $5 million being stolen from Department of Social Services, one $7,000 check after another for more than five years.

I am as frustrated as any other elected official to hear that while we grapple with cuts to hospice programs for seniors and autism services for children, hundreds of millions of dollars are hidden from public view in reserve accounts by the Department of Health and Human Services.

I am as baffled as any business person that $250,000 for a veterans program can be ‘lost’ in the Governor’s Office, only to be quickly ‘found’ when a legislator calls for an audit.

Therefore I am completely delighted to implement a solution that lets anyone go to the internet and view what is tantamount to the monthly bank statement for every state agency.

This builds on the commendable efforts of Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom to provide taxpayers what are essentially the cancelled checks of South Carolina state government.

But, we can -- and we must -- do much more.

I applaud him for embracing my initiative by going the further step, which places on the internet a current report used by all state agencies and issued by his office – and is the equivalent of a monthly bank statement. It shows not only the checks written, but the balances.

My staff and Comptroller General Eckstrom’s staff are working together to make this process more user friendly. The beginning point is for state agencies to turn these monthly reports into pdf files that can be placed on the internet with little cost. Our objective ultimately is to adapt technology so that these reports become data bases that can be researched by taxpayers.

In the meantime, today I am sending every agency head in South Carolina my personal request that they take the identical steps we have taken in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

Let’s restore taxpayer confidence in our stewardship of their money. Let’s get serious about transparency. The people who pay the bills – the hard-working taxpayers of South Carolina – deserve no less.

Lt. Gov. For Sale

A Report from The Palmetto Scoop:

The Christmas season is truly a time for charity. And judging by a website that has recently popped-up, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer may be in need of some serious financial assistance.

In an incredibly odd move, Bauer has launched AndreChristmas.com, which quietly went online sometime in the last 72 hours offering “unique gifts for your Southern gent.”

But, rather than “unique gifts,” it appears to be a bunch of overpriced crap Bauer doesn’t want anymore — such as paintings that range from $975 to $1950 — and “exclusive” items like a $1500 deer/hog hunt for two. Oh, boy.

It’s basically Google meets your grandmother’s garage sale meets South of the Border.

You can see the site here.
The items are "contributions to the Andre Bauer campaign" and "Individual contributions must not exceed $3500 per election cycle."