Jim Clyburn Rails Against DOGE Cuts: We Need To Find Balance Between ‘Efficiency And Effectiveness’

Forbes Breaking News

During Rep. Jim Clyburn's (D-SC) Thursday town hall, he answered questions about DOGE cuts.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Congressman. We now have a question from Patricia Pringle of Pinewood, South Carolina.

00:11Is Ms. Pringle here? There she is. Can somebody hand me right down here, front row?

00:21Yes, Ms. Pringle. Question for the Congressman.

00:23Thank you. Welcome, Congressman Clarence to Clarence County.

00:27We love you here in Clarence County, even though it didn't reflect that in the last election, but we do love you.

00:33We want you to know that. But my question is, what are your thoughts on the Trump-must-Doge cuts

00:40and the impact it is having or will have on the state of South Carolina?

00:45Well, I just thank you so much for that, and thank you for expressing your love.

00:51We hope we can get more people to show that love the next time.

00:57When I was in high school over at Old Lenton High School, one of my best friends was a guy who, I won't call this name,

01:15but he's passed away. But there were three of us who were real good buddies.

01:20I wanted to go to South Carolina State, what I did. One of them, we called him Bubba, he went to South Carolina Area Trade,

01:31as we call it back then, now Denmark Tech.

01:35But the other one, all he ever wanted to do, because his parents lived in Washington,

01:42and he went to school down there every year and every summer, he would go with his parents.

01:48It was not unusual for that kind of arrangement to be in those days.

01:54But all he ever wanted to do was to drive a transit bus in D.C.

02:01That was his aspiration.

02:03He wanted to finish high school, he wanted to get a job, driving that bus in D.C.

02:08He did finish high school. He did go to Washington, and he got the job that he dreamed about.

02:21About five or six years later, he got fired from the job.

02:29And the reason he got fired from the job was because all the bus drivers were on the clock.

02:39Your bus had to be at this corner at a certain time.

02:45And then, at a certain time, you had to be at another corner.

02:51That's the efficiency of the operation.

02:54That's the Elon Musk way of doing it.

03:01So, Freddie got fired because he was not keeping that schedule.

03:08Why?

03:09Because if somebody left their house late,

03:15they would be running down the street waving for the bus to stop.

03:19Freddie would stop.

03:20Anybody who wanted to be efficient would go on to the next stop.

03:29And so, what I say, I would be for Doge if the E stood for effectiveness rather than efficiency.

03:39What do we do to make government run effectively?

03:49We know how to make it efficient.

03:51Just stay on time.

03:54But to be effective, you got to pick up the passengers.

03:57And so, what we have to do, it seems to me,

04:05is to find a balance between that efficiency and that effectiveness.

04:12That's what you got to do, Mr. Mayor.

04:14Let me give you a good example of how that works.

04:18When Summerton lost its entire water system,

04:23the whole thing failed.

04:26There are a lot of reasons.

04:27I read all the news reports.

04:30But in the middle of that,

04:33the governor approached me about helping

04:37get a new bridge on I-95.

04:42That bridge is 60-some-odd years old.

04:4960 or 9, I believe.

04:52And we needed a new bridge.

04:56So the governor said to me,

04:59and this is another example of why,

05:01this isn't partisanship with me.

05:03Henry McMaster and I are as good of friends as you'll find.

05:13We are really good friends.

05:18I can't stand his politics, and he can't stand mine.

05:23But that's got nothing to do with serving the people of South Carolina.

05:27So Henry called me.

05:35He says, we got $175 million from the state to do this bridge.

05:43But the bridge has cost $350 million

05:47because we want to put a bridge in there

05:49that will be three lanes on either side.

05:52That's going to be a six-lane bridge

05:53with a separate lane for bicycles and walking

05:57and all of this.

05:59He says, I want to send the highway department over

06:01to sit with you

06:02because I want you to help me

06:05get $175 million from the federal government.

06:09So they came.

06:11I sat with them.

06:12And they showed me what they wanted to do.

06:15I thought it was a pretty bridge.

06:17Good-looking bridge.

06:19But I said to them,

06:22I said, you know,

06:23I would like for y'all to go back

06:25and redesign this bridge.

06:28We got the Lake Man Reasoning Water Agency

06:30sitting over here.

06:32It's producing water

06:33for the Volvo plant.

06:37It's producing water

06:38for all the people on this side,

06:41the south side of the lake.

06:44And here's the little town of Sumpton

06:46sitting on the north side of the lake.

06:49And their whole water system just failed.

06:54How about redesign this bridge

06:55and see what you can do

06:58by putting big pipes on this bridge

07:01so we can get water

07:02from the Lake Man Reasoning Water Agency

07:05right under this bridge,

07:08attached to the bridge with pipes

07:10to take water over

07:11into Clowden County

07:13so the people of Summerton

07:15can get water.

07:17And then,

07:18let's talk.

07:24Well, they told me

07:25it'll cost $30 million.

07:28An additional $30 million.

07:29And I said,

07:29okay.

07:31How much y'all got now?

07:36They came back with a new bridge,

07:38new design bridge,

07:39and we got the money.

07:41And the reason we got the money,

07:44according to a person

07:45that came to me and said,

07:47congratulations.

07:49You all made that bridge

07:50about more than a road.

07:53It became a health.

07:55so that to me

08:04is what it's all about.

08:08How do you look

08:09at the needs of the community?

08:12This county,

08:15in spite of the way

08:18people voted,

08:20it doesn't bother me.

08:23I would like to win the county.

08:25But the fact is this.

08:30The whole idea

08:31about the bill

08:34that got wrapped

08:36into the so-called

08:37infrastructure bill

08:39to make broadband

08:44accessible and affordable,

08:47it started right here

08:48in Clowden County.

08:50Some of you may know

08:51that story.

08:52when Serena Williams

08:55asked for my help

08:58on an issue

09:00that she had

09:02with the family,

09:04whatever that tournament,

09:06tennis tournament

09:06is down in Charleston.

09:08What is it, Angie?

09:10Family circle.

09:11That's my tennis

09:13player over there.

09:15She loved tennis.

09:16I hope she one day

09:17learned to play.

09:21The family circle.

09:22Come.

09:24So,

09:25I told Serena

09:28I'll be pleased

09:28to help her,

09:30but it would cost her.

09:34She said,

09:34well, what would it cost?

09:35I said,

09:37it'll cost you

09:38a couple hundred laptops

09:40because I want

09:43some laptops

09:44for the children

09:46at Scotch Branch High School.

09:49You all may remember that.

09:53Well,

09:54we made the deal.

09:54I thought I had

09:57done something.

09:58I called Rose Wilder,

10:01the late Rose Wilder

10:02who was superintendent

10:03at the time.

10:04I said,

10:04Rose,

10:05I want to tell you

10:06about something

10:07I just did.

10:08And I noticed

10:09she didn't react

10:11the way I thought

10:12she should.

10:14I said,

10:14Rose,

10:15did you hear

10:16what I just said?

10:17I just got

10:17these laptops

10:18for your kids.

10:19She said,

10:19well,

10:19what are you going

10:20to do

10:20with these laptops?

10:22I said,

10:22well,

10:22put them in the library.

10:23and let

10:25the students

10:26check laptops

10:27out the library

10:28just like

10:29they check books.

10:31She said,

10:32yeah,

10:32that's fine.

10:33But what they're

10:34going to do

10:34with them

10:35when they get them

10:35home?

10:37And that's

10:38when it hit me.

10:40At the time,

10:4134% adoption rate

10:43in the county

10:44or in the school district.

10:48That's when I knew

10:49there's one thing

10:51to give them

10:51a laptop.

10:53it's something

10:54else

10:55to make it

10:56effective.

11:00And the only way

11:01to make that

11:02laptop effective

11:04was to get

11:04broadband.

11:07And so,

11:08I went back

11:09to Washington.

11:10I got me

11:1120 people

11:12from rural places

11:14all over the country.

11:16And we sat down

11:17in my conference room.

11:18and we pledged

11:21to each other

11:21that we were not

11:23going to let

11:24an infrastructure bill

11:25go through the house

11:26unless we treat

11:29the information highway

11:30the same way

11:32we treat

11:32the interstate highway.

11:35And so that's

11:35what happened.

11:36And we got

11:37$65 billion

11:39for broadband

11:41in that bill.

11:44And so when

11:45the governor

11:45called me

11:46on the

11:48she never

11:49read the date

11:50January 6th

11:522021

11:52I got a call

11:54from

11:56Governor

11:56McNaster

11:57asking

11:58about my safety.

12:00That's our friendship.

12:01and we discussed

12:05to him

12:06I was fine.

12:07He said

12:08well I'm going

12:08to go to the legislature

12:09and I'm going

12:11to ask for some money

12:12to get started

12:12on your broadband

12:13program.

12:16And we had

12:16a joint press conference

12:18announcing

12:20that by the end

12:22of this year

12:24by the end

12:27of 2025

12:28I hope we stay

12:29on schedule

12:29every residence

12:32and every

12:34business

12:34in the state

12:36of South Carolina

12:37will be

12:39connected

12:40to the internet.

12:48$650 million

12:52and we got

12:54all the money

12:55sitting in the

12:56bank to do it.

12:58We're going

12:59to do it.

13:00That's

13:01what we do.

13:08All right.

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