South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott Introduces and Co-Sponsors Legislation Passed in the U.S. Senate

(Seneca, SC)—————-The U.S. Senate recently passed legislation proposed by South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott. According to a release from the Senator’s Office, the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park Act was part of a larger federal lands package. According to the release, Senator Scott’s bill will revamp protections overseeing some of the Palmetto State’s most historic locations, and has the potential to enhance local economic opportunities for the surrounding areas through increased tourism and visitation.

Among the specific details of the bill, they include:

• Establishes Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
• Codifies clear and defining boundaries of federally managed land at Fort Sumter
• Recognizes the importance of Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, and the Sullivan’s Island Life Saving Station Historic District in American history and the role they played in protecting the Charleston Harbor during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the development of the United States coastal defense system from 1776 to 1947
• Commemorates the lives of the free and enslaved workers who built Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, the soldiers who defended the forts, the prisoners held there, and the captive Africans brought to America as slaves
• Bolsters the tourism potential of the community by increasing the visibility, prestige, and notoriety of the sites by upgrading the federal designation to national park

According to the release, each year, Fort Sumter National Monument and Fort Moultrie attract nearly a million visitors to see where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. Fort Sumter has been recognized as a national monument since 1948, and since 1960, Fort Moultrie has been administered by the National Parks Service as part of Fort Sumter without a clear management mandate or established boundary.

It was also announced recently that U.S. Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina co-sponsored legislation that was recently passed by the U.S. Senate. The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act would criminalize lynching for the first time in American history. According to a press release from the Senator’s Office, this marked the first time in American history that federal anti-lynching legislation had been passed by the Senate.

Senator Scott also help to introduce other legislation, the Teacher and School LEADERS Act, which would reform Teacher Quality Partnership Grants to better support school leaders and allow for greater innovation in educator preparation, according to a release from the Senator’s Office.