COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Two of the Democrats seeking to challenge U.S. Sen. Tim Scott pledged Thursday to work toward completing and keeping open a multibillion-dollar nuclear reactor fuel project at the Savannah River Site, saying they wouldn’t support the Obama administration’s plans to shutter the facility.
During a televised debate, both Joyce Dickerson and Harry Pavilack said the mixed-oxide fuel project needed to proceed because of the jobs it would bring to the state.
“In South Carolina, we are badly in need of jobs,” said Dickerson, a member of the Richland County Council. “Yes, I would be working very hard, and I would not do anything to halt it.”
That stance is the same as one taken by many Republicans in South Carolina, including Gov. Nikki Haley. Earlier this year, Haley mounted a lawsuit against the federal government after the administration said it planned to halt construction on the facility, citing escalating costs and delays.
South Carolina ultimately dropped its challenge after the government said it would continue to fund the program, known as MOX, through the end of the current fiscal year. Part of a U.S.-Russia nonproliferation agreement to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium, the plant has been slow to attract customers for the commercial reactor fuel it will produce. It is more than three years behind its 2016 completion deadline and is billions of dollars over budget.
Pavilack, a Myrtle Beach attorney, also pledged to keep the project viable, saying he wasn’t bothered by its growing price tag.
“Whether it has a cost overrun or not, so what?” Pavilack said.
A third Democrat, former York County Council member Sidney Moore, did not participate in the debate, sponsored by South Carolina Educational Television and several newspapers, saying he already had several campaign events scheduled for this week.
Pavilack and Richardson also addressed a number of other topics, including:
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VETERANS’ ISSUES
Both candidates decried problems that have surfaced involving health care for veterans, calling for systemic change to better care for those who have served.
“When a relative or a spouse or a loved one has to lie in a hospital for 21 months before they can get service, that is unacceptable,” said Dickerson. “I’m mad as hell about that. … I will fight for my vets every step of the way.”
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GUN CONTROL
Saying they favor the right to have guns, both candidates said there are issues associated with gun violence that need to be addressed. Pavilack cited the power of the gun industry, while Dickerson focused her attention on avoiding future violence by adequately treating the mentally ill.
“I have a gun. I don’t know how to shoot it, but I have one,” Pavilack said.
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SCOTT’S VULNERABILITY
Previously, Dickerson has said she felt she had a chance against Scott because he had never faced a statewide election, having been appointed by Haley to his current role. On Thursday, she said she felt the incumbent hadn’t accomplished much during his time in Washington and said South Carolina needed female representation in Washington.
“I believe South Carolina is ready for a woman like me,” she said. “I have paid my dues.”
Pavilack said the state needed someone who would be willing to lead on its behalf in Congress.
“We have to decide who our leaders are,” Pavilack said. “What has he done? What bills has he put in?”
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South Carolina’s primary elections are June 10. Scott faces a challenger of his own in the Republican primary.
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Kinnard can be reached at https://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
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