| Clyburn: SC legislators should do more for environment, energy
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
By Seanna Adcox - Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina legislators should aggressively promote the production of alternative energy like biofuels, which could help struggling rural residents along Interstate 95, U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn told a joint assembly of the state Legislature on Tuesday.
"We can once again make farming a profitable and productive way of life, and I see the I-95 corridor as being the very epicenter of that major economic recovery for our state," said Clyburn, the first black Congressman in more than 100 years to address the state's General Assembly.
The South Carolina Democrat said he had secured $1 million for two colleges to research biofuels such as butanol and applauded state legislation that would offer low-interest loans, grants and tax credits to encourage alternative energy.
"Because cotton is no longer king, and tobacco is no longer our largest cash crop, the agricultural belt, which once supported much of South Carolina, has become more of a noose, choking farmers and their communities," Clyburn said.
The South Carolina Democrat represents the black-majority 6th Congressional District, which reaches from the state capital, eastward past I-95 and south to Charleston.
He also said more should be done to fund education.
"Shortchanging public education is shortchanging the entire future of our state and nation," said Clyburn, a former teacher. His 30-minute speech centered on the state's motto: "While I breathe, I hope," which Clyburn taught his students in the 1960s. Providing hope means educating children, protecting the environment and developing new economies, he said.
"People are impressed by the great beauty of our state and the friendliness of our people," he said. "But our environmental concerns must be about more than beautiful places and smiling faces."
Clyburn also urged the General Assembly to pass legislation that would restrict payday lending in South Carolina, which he called the "unfair exploitation of the working poor and unsophisticated consumer."
Sen. John Matthews, a black Democrat, said Clyburn's appearance shows state legislative leaders today, unlike in the past, are open to talking about racial and economic inequities.
"But the real test is what we're willing to do about it," said Matthews, a legislator since 1975. "The niceties they're willing to do. They're not willing to deal with the substance."
Clyburn was first elected to the U.S. House in 1992, when he became the first black in Congress from the Palmetto State since Reconstruction. The invitation to speak came following his rise in November to House majority whip -- the third-highest position behind the speaker and majority leader.
Eight black South Carolinians have served in the U.S. House, though none since 1897, when Republican Rep. George Washington Murray lost his seat two years after the state adopted a new constitution.
Clyburn's political aspirations began when he 12 years old. He was elected president of a youth chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. His decision to pursue politics was solidified, he said, when he participated in sit-ins during the civil rights movement while attending South Carolina State University.
Clyburn ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat representing Charleston in 1970. Following the loss, he joined then-Gov. John West's staff and was later appointed head of the State Human Affairs Commission. He held that job for nearly two decades.
He addressed a Legislature that has been dominated by Republicans since 2001.
Clyburn said he didn't reflect on the historical aspect of his appearance until recently.
"It means South Carolina is incrementally getting to where a lot of us hoped and dreamed it would get," he said.
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