On Monday March 15th, I had the privilege of speaking with several families that came to the Statehouse Lobby to protest the proposed cuts to the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN). They came to Columbia to remind their Legislators of the good provided by the services that were facing cuts.
On the evening of Tuesday March 16th, I had the privilege of speaking to the SC Hemophilia Chapter that was meeting in Columbia in preparation of Hemophilia Awareness Day on Wednesday.
On Wednesday March 17th, I had the privilege of introducing the SC Hemophilia Chapter to the House while they watched from the Gallery. During the introduction, I was able to talk about the importance of the programs offered by the state to both the parents of disabled children and the parents of children with hemophilia.
On Thursday March 18th at about 3am during the budget debate on the abortion question, I had the privilege of delivering a speech on the ethical need to protect the powerless such as the disabled and the unborn.
At the end of the budget debate, we were able to avoid the cuts to DDSN and increase the amount of protection of the unborn in this state. The Republican majority also fought off over $7 billion in new tax increases proposed by the Democrats.
Though tiring (we debated 23 straight hours on Wednesday), it was a better budget week than expected.
For a more detailed discussion of the budget debate, please see my summary in the “Week Ending . . .” section.