Editing Fritz Hollings (section)

====Later Senate career====

[[File:Fritz Hollings press photo, color.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Senator Ernest Hollings]]

On March 24, 1981, Hollings introduced legislation that if passed would restore the military draft with limited deferments and exemptions and stipulating that men aged 18 to 22 years old would be required to spend nine months of active service for basic training that potentially would precede reserve duty. Hollings's proposal granted deferments "to people on active duty, in the reserves or in advanced [[Reserve Officers Training Corps]] study; surviving sons or brothers of those killed in war or missing in action; conscientious objectors and ministers; doctors and others in vital health professions, and judges of courts of record and elected officials". Hollings stated that recruiting for the armed forces had fallen short of requirements by an estimated 23,000 people in 1979 and that he believed the draft applying to women "should be across the board" due to the issue continuing to be debated between the public and the courts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/25/us/bill-introduced-in-senate-to-reinstate-the-draft.html|title=Bill Introduced in Senate To Reinstate the Draft|date=March 25, 1981|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 1981, Hollings apologized to fellow Democrat [[Howard Metzenbaum]] after Hollings referred to him as the "senator from [[B'nai B'rith]]" on the floor. Metzenbaum, who was Jewish, raised a [[Raise a question of privilege|question of privilege]] and Hollings's remarks were stricken from the record.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/16/us/a-senator-s-cannibal-joke-angers-blacks.html|title=A Senator's Cannibal 'Joke' Angers Blacks|author=<!--staff-->|work=The New York Times|date=December 16, 1993|access-date=September 25, 2016}}</ref>

In March 1985, the Senate Budget Committee approved a proposal sponsored by Hollings freezing military spending by not allowing any growth above inflation in fiscal year 1986 and bestowing three percent hikes in the following two years, Hollings after the vote saying that a pattern had been set for similar action on other budget items and predicted that the Budget Committee would also go against another Reagan administration supported position by freezing Social Security cost of living increases.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/biddeford-journal-tribune-mar-06-1985-p-4/|title=Budget freezers extend the chill|date=March 6, 1985|publisher=Journal Tribune|access-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127193501/https://newspaperarchive.com/biddeford-journal-tribune-mar-06-1985-p-4/|archive-date=November 27, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On May 1, 1985, the [[United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation|United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation]] rejected an amendment to a bill reauthorizing the [[Federal Communications Commission]] prohibiting public television stations from swapping channels with commercial stations, Hollings afterward stating that the vote was "a tragic abdication by Congress of its over 60-year-old responsibility to protect the public's interest in broadcasting".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/01/arts/senate-panel-rejects-ban-on-channel-swaps.html|title=Senate Panel Rejects Ban On Channel Swaps|date=May 1, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In October 1985, Hollings and Republicans [[Phil Gramm]] and [[Warren Rudman]] sponsored an amendment to establish a budget deficit ceiling that would decline to zero by 1991 that was attached to a bill raising the [[debt limit]] of the federal government by more than $250{{spaces}}billion. The amendment was approved by a vote of 75 to 24 and was stated as a possible prelude to a balanced budget in five years without a tax increase by [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] [[James Baker]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/14/us/treasury-head-defends-plan-for-ending-deficit.html|title=Treasury Head Defends Plan for Ending Deficit|date=October 14, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

During the [[1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], Hollings endorsed [[Jesse Jackson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=55210|title=Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1988|website=www.ourcampaigns.com|access-date=November 24, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111013847/http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=55210|archive-date=November 11, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In October 1989, Hollings announced from his Washington office that he would request the [[Government Accountability Office]] investigate efforts by the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] to provide timely assistance and funds to victims of [[Hurricane Hugo]] the previous month. Hollings charged FEMA with "stonewalling, fretting and filling out forms" and called on the federal government to become more active in trying to relieve areas devastated by Hurricane Hugo.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/10/03/Hollings-calls-for-FEMA-investigation/4897623390400/|title=Hollings calls for FEMA investigation|date=October 3, 1989|publisher=UPI}}</ref>

In April 1990, Hollings planned the compiling of the Senate Budget Committee to vote on a cut in the [[Federal Insurance Contributions Act]], an idea initially forwarded at the end of the previous year by fellow Democratic senator [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]] as a way of making Congress address what he considered to be a serious problem in the management of the Social Security trust funds. Hollings sought a revenue figure which reflected the $36{{spaces}}billion tax cut through a rollback of Social Security payroll taxes increases that were scheduled to take effect January{{spaces}}1 and confirmed he would ask his colleagues on the budget committee to remove the trust funds from the budget deficit calculation and vote on the 1991 budget including a $300{{spaces}}billion deficit. Hollings's plan included a five percent [[value-added tax]] on goods and services in addition to a ten percent oil import fee as well as an increase in the top income tax rate to thirty-three percent among wealthiest taxpayers. The goal was considered an uphill battle where Hollings could be outmaneuvered in committee with parliamentary tactics that would result in the precluding of a straight up-or-down vote on the Social Security tax cut. Acknowledging this, Hollings said, "They may try to block me. But we will find a bill by God to cut Social Security taxes. There will be a vote."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/24/us/decision-is-urged-on-social-security.html|title=Decision is Urged On Social Security|date=April 24, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

In January 1991, Hollings joined most Democratic senators in voting against a resolution authorizing war against Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/01/12/Senate-vote-authorizing-military-force-against-Iraq/3439806032531/|title=Senate vote authorizing military force against Iraq|date=January 12, 1991|publisher=UPI}}</ref>

In 1993, Hollings told reporters he attended international summits because, "Everybody likes to go to [[Geneva]]. I used to do it for the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea|United States Convention on the Law of the Sea]] conferences and you'd find those potentates from down in [[Africa]], you know, rather than eating each other, they'd just come up and get a good square meal in Geneva."<ref name=nyt/> Hollings had previously caused controversy when responding to [[Yoshio Sakurauchi]]'s commentary that Americans are lazy and illiterate. Hollings replied, "You should draw a mushroom cloud and put underneath it, 'Made in America by lazy and illiterate Americans and tested in Japan'."<ref name=nyt/>

Hollings remained very popular in South Carolina over the years, even as the state became increasingly friendly to Republicans at the national level. In his first three bids for a full term, he never won less than 60 percent of the vote. In [[1992 United States Senate election in South Carolina|1992]], however, he faced an unexpectedly close race against former Congressman [[Thomas F. Hartnett]] in what was otherwise a very good year for Democrats nationally. Hartnett had represented the Charleston area in Congress from 1981 to 1987, thus making him Hollings's congressman. His appeal in the [[Lowcountry]]{{snd}}traditionally a swing region at the state level{{snd}}enabled him to hold Hollings to only fifty percent of the vote.

In his last Senate race in [[1998 United States Senate election in South Carolina|1998]], Hollings faced [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] congressman [[Bob Inglis]]. One of the more heated moments of the race was a newspaper interview in which Hollings referred to Inglis as a "goddamn skunk". Hollings was re-elected by 75,139 votes. 

On January 7, 2003, Hollings introduced the controversial Universal National Service Act of 2006, which would require all men and women aged 18–26 (with some exceptions) to perform a year of military service.

By 2003, Hollings realized that no Democrat could win statewide office in South Carolina's current political climate—not even as entrenched an incumbent as himself. On August 4, 2003, he announced that he would not run for re-election in [[2004 United States Senate election in South Carolina|2004]]. Republican [[Jim DeMint]] succeeded him.

In his later career, Hollings was moderate politically but was supportive of many [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] bills. He voted for re-authorizing the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965|Voting Rights Act]] in 1982. However, in 1967 he was one of the 11 senators who voted against the confirmation of [[Thurgood Marshall]], the first black [[Supreme Court of the United States]] justice.<ref>https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/240_1967.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> Hollings later voted in favor of the unsuccessful nomination of [[Robert Bork]] and also for the successful nomination of [[Clarence Thomas]].

On fiscal issues, he was generally conservative, and was one of the primary sponsors of the [[Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act|Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced  Act]], an attempt to enforce limits on government spending.

Hollings and [[Howell Heflin]] of [[Alabama]] were the only two Democratic senators to vote against the [[Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993]].<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 103rd Congress - 1st Session|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00011|website=www.senate.gov}}</ref>