We are well into the 21^st century and with this momentous change in eras South Carolina's economy is making important changes as well.  For most of the 20^th century textiles and tobacco were South Carolina’s major economic engines.  Mill villages and agricultural communities dotted our landscape and were thriving, bustling places. 

However, those engines, which I often refer to as the T’s of our past, lost steam as our nation and its policies changed.  Many communities that depended on textiles, tobacco and other agricultural crops are now virtual ghost towns.  To meet current economic challenges South Carolina should look to two new T's in the future, tourism and transportation. 

            When I was elected to Congress in 1992, there were 123,200 textile and apparel jobs in South Carolina.  On January 1, 1994, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) took affect.  I opposed NAFTA because I feared its possible impact on South Carolina and my constituents.  In the eleven years I have been in Congress, our state has lost 63,200 textile jobs.  Although some of these losses had begun to occur before NAFTA, there is little doubt NAFTA, and other so-called “free trade” agreements have been devastating to South Carolina.  The headlines reverberate with the grim news: "Mill's Demise Ends Era in S.C. Town" and "Textile Town Faces Future without Mill." It is no coincidence that much of our clothing bears China labels. 

            Tobacco related headlines have been just as bleak: "Heyday for Tiny Town, Tobacco Long Gone" and "Changing World Envelops Tobacco Growers."  In the last half of the 20^th century, tobacco production declined by 46% and tobacco acreage declined by 73%.  According to the South Carolina Agricultural Statistics Service, flue cured tobacco in our state accounted for 52,000 harvested acres in 1992.  The 112 million pounds produced that year resulted in total cash receipts of $190 million.  In 2002, there were only 30,500 acres of tobacco harvested in South Carolina.  The 59 million pounds those acres produced resulted in $129 million in cash receipts. 

            Commodities that once drove South Carolina's economic engine are now fueling economies overseas.  My daughter Mignon and I recently visited China as part of a delegation sponsored by United Parcel Service (UPS) to help build a computer lab for students in the remote village of Xibaipo.  When we stepped off the plane in Beijing, one of the first things Mignon noted was the number of smokers.  When I visited China a few years earlier, among the first things I noticed was the Marlboro Man towering over us on billboards that blanketed various cities.  And tobacco, which once flourished here, now fills China fields.  National policies and social changes have driven these industries overseas, and they are unlikely to return. 

            South Carolina must face reality and redefine its economic future.  I believe the real economic growth in our state is in tourism and transportation.  If federal, state and local governments work together to harness the potential of these growth industries, we will create a lasting and dependable economic future for South Carolina. 

            Tourism is arguably our state's number one industry.  The travel and tourism industry posted $14.4 billion in economic activity in 2000.  That amount is expected to grow to $25.5 billion by 2010.  In 2000, the travel and tourism industry was responsible for 201,100 direct and indirect jobs, representing 10.1% of our total workforce.  By 2010, an additional 52,500 travel and tourism related jobs are expected to be added to South Carolina's economy.

            While our overall tourism industry is growing by 5% annually, heritage tourism is growing by 30% annually.  Heritage tourism brings approximately 2.7 million visitors each year and they spend $581 million in our state. This is what was on my mind when I introduced the legislation designating the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor that follows the route of the old Hamburg Railroad from Walhalla in Oconee County down to Charleston.

            Heritage tourism offers an enormous variety of opportunities.  These can be historic in nature such as Revolutionary and Civil Wars sites, and the birthplace of Brown v. the Board of Education. Cultural sites like the Indian burial Mound at the Santee Wildlife Refuge, the International African American Museum being planned for Charleston, and the Gullah-Geechee Heritage Corridor I am working to establish could be economic engines in the future. 

            In order to tap this state's vast heritage tourism resources, South Carolina must insure that our transportation infrastructure is strong.  Our state is blessed with a good network of Interstate Highways: 20, 26, 77, 85, and 95.  The Washington-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association named the Port of Charleston and Interstate 95 as South Carolina's top infrastructure projects of the 20^th century.  The 200-mile I-95 corridor through South Carolina carries 34,500 vehicles a day.  But most of these vehicles do not stop in South Carolina for long.  We must do a better job of providing these travelers attractions, facilities, and alternative routes to get off the Interstates and experience South Carolina.  That’s why the Briggs-Delaine-Pearson Connector is needed to connect the Heritage Corridor to the Palmetto Trail and the north and south routes of the National Bicycle trial.  It will also create a commercial/recreational/tourism corridor between Orangeburg and Sumter and unlimited economic possibilities for Calhoun, Lee, Sumter, Clarendon and Orangeburg counties.

            The Port of Charleston, an important transportation asset for our state, is the fourth largest container port in the United States.  It handles 1.7 million containers a year, and serves 5,000 companies in about 27 states.  If our port is to remain competitive, South Carolina must invest in meaningful and realistic expansion efforts.  I believe an inland port at the intersection of I-95 and I-26 would open up possibilities for the Charleston Port to grow and enhance economic opportunities for communities along the I-95 corridor. 

           Transportation and tourism are currently our state’s most important commodities.  Our state’s leaders and regions must embrace and nurture them with vim, vigor, and vision.  The 21^st century can be bright for South Carolina. So let's just do it. 

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