Needed Legislation for Improved Dams in South Carolina

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Tax policy commentator Archie Parnell ran for a seat in the South Carolina 5th Congressional District in 2018. A part of Archie Parnell’s platform focused on improving South Carolina’s aging infrastructure, as the state earned a D on the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card.

One of the major hazards mentioned in the report was the condition of the state’s dams. Currently, almost 80 of South Carolina’s dams have failed due to the impact of hurricanes Matthew and Florence. In 2015, a flood caused more than 50 dams to fail, which then resulted in millions of property losses and a swarm of lawsuits. Even with these failures, though, very little has been done to remedy this situation.

Conversely, bills have been introduced that would reduce safety regulations and state oversight. SB 81 and SB 107 would potentially remove state oversight from over 1,700 dams in the state. The bills would also remove regulations for low-hazard dams and could be catastrophic for residents impacted by dam failures.

Dams with high-hazard potential are ones classified as having the likelihood for failure or having the likelihood for causing loss of life and significant property damage. Of the 2,300 dams in the state, only 178 of them are rated as high-hazard, and just under 90 percent of state dams have emergency action plans (EAPs). However, increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters, combined with aging or weakening structures, mandate that safety regulations and efforts are made to improve dam infrastructure.

FCC Working to Expand Rural Broadband Access Across 43 States

Power line tower

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A native of South Carolina, Archie Parnell is an executive with experience in both public service and Fortune 500 corporations. In 2017, Archie Parnell ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress and emphasized the importance of expanding internet access to rural parts of the United States. Access could vastly improve the lives of individuals in these areas.

Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it would work to expand broadband Internet service across 43 states to reach more than 106,000 rural homes and businesses. In a number of underserved states, the available of high-speed Internet through the FCC Connect America program is expected to double.

Fortunately, the FCC has pledged $67 million annually in broadband initiatives to connect rural America. More than 180 companies are participating in Connect America and have accepted funding in return for expanding their high-speed Internet networks. This initiative has already helped bring Internet to nearly 6 million new people. According to estimates, fewer than 20 million people in the United States still lack access to high-speed internet.

How Attorneys Gain Admission to the US Supreme Court Bar

Court room 

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A Democratic candidate for the United States Congress in South Carolina, Archie Parnell is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. Experienced in tax policy matters in the US and Asia, Archie Parnell has gained admission to the United States Supreme Court Bar. 

The highest court in the nation, the United States Supreme Court consists of nine justices who serve as final judges of the country’s legal questions. Attorneys who qualify for admission to the Supreme Court Bar must meet several criteria. 

First, the attorney must be admitted to practice law in the highest court of a state or territory for at least the previous three years. Applicants also must have no adverse disciplinary action on their record during the previous three years and appear to be “of good moral and professional character.” 

The last step in the admittance process is receiving sponsorship from two current members of the Supreme Court Bar. Once admitted to the Supreme Court Bar, attorneys can try cases before the Supreme Court.

Revisiting the Civilian Conservation Corps Program

A retired senior executive of a Fortune 500 company, Archie Parnell is now actively involved in community matters, particularly in his home state of South Carolina. Archie Parnell believes that to fix and upgrade the country’s deteriorating infrastructure (including roads, airports, and schools) we should reevaluate and learn from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program that ran from 1933 to 1942. 

Part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiative, the CCC was implemented during the Great Depression to help address high unemployment by hiring primarily young single men, aged 18 to 25, to engage in environmental conservation work across the country. They were each paid $30 per month, in addition to board and lodging at a work camp, and worked for a minimum of 6 months. The men had to send home $22 to $25 of their monthly wages to support their families. 

At its peak, the CCC had over 500,000 corpsmen working in 2,900 campsites. Approximately 3 million men, or around 5 percent of the US male population, participated in the program during its 9 years of existence. Basic education provided in the camps enabled around 57,000 men to learn how to read and write.

CCC corpsmen resuscitated grazing land, completed erosion control, constructed roads and bridges, and fought forest fires. Under the program, over 3.5 billion trees were planted—more than half of the private and public reforestation accomplished in the country’s history. This helped stop the Dust Bowl that was affecting many states. The program also established over 700 new state parks.