Georgia will get only a fraction of the federal money state leaders say they need to expand the Port of Savannah, and other federal programs face potential funding cuts under President Barack Obama's budget.
The president's fiscal 2012 budget proposal includes $600,000 in "pre-construction" money for deepening the harbor, considered by state leaders as Georgia's biggest and most important economic development project.
State officials say they need $105 million in federal help this year to help with deepening the harbor so it can compete with other Atlantic ports when bigger ships begin passing through the Panama Canal in 2015. The total cost of deepening the harbor, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is expected to be about $551 million -- a huge amount for the state to bear without more federal aid.
Gov. Nathan Deal said he was disappointed in the lack of more funding for the port.
“Georgia and the Southeast greatly need this project, and the federal government has a constitutional authority and responsibility to pay for waterways and ports," Deal said in a statement. "The state of Georgia has done its part. Our state taxpayers are a willing partner in this effort."
Deal and Georgia's lawmakers in Washington vowed to continue seeking funding.
“It is critically important that we expand the harbor to ensure it continues to act as a gateway for business to Georgia and to the nation," Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson said in a statement.
Isakson and fellow Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss have vowed to pursue federal money for the port through other means, including possible amendments to congressional spending bills and even "earmarks" -- those much-maligned congressionally directed funding mechanisms -- despite vows by both Republican and Democratic leaders to eschew earmarks.
Port of Savannah aside, congressional Republicans slammed the president's $3.7 trillion budget plan, saying it didn't include nearly enough cuts. House Republicans have said they want to ax $100 billion out of the current federal budget.
"On its face ... (the president's budget) seems long on tax increases and short on bold decisions to redirect our nation's fiscal future," Republican Rep. Rob Woodall of Lawrenceville, a member of the House Budget Committee said in a statement.
"We need leadership to get our fiscal house in order, and I still hope that the president will be the one to provide that leadership, but this budget doesn't," Woodall said."
Added Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey of Marietta: "Based on his budget, it is clear that President Obama still does not get it."
Still, Obama's proposal includes cuts to more than 200 federal programs, including many supported by top Democrats.
Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Lithonia characterized the president's proposed 2012 budget cuts as responsible, in contrast to what he called a "thoughtless scramble" by House Republicans to cut $100 billion from the 2011 budget.
"Republicans’ call to strip the cupboard bare of funding for the remainder of 2011 reflects their thoughtless scramble to meet an arbitrary $100 billion campaign promise," Johnson said.
In Georgia, the president's proposed cuts could be far-reaching. Among them:
*The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, headquartered in Atlanta, will see a $100 million reduction in administrative expenses, although the agency's overall funding would increase slightly. No workforce reductions are expected.
*Many social programs will see cuts. Among the biggest: A $3 billion reduction in funds for the federal Low Income Heating Assistance Program, which helps about 29,000 Georgians pay their heating bills.
*Changes in the federal Pell Grant program would eliminate funding for summer school tuition help and require graduate students who get Pell Grants to pay more interest on loans.
Obama's transportation budget calls for more spending on high-speed rail and $1.1 billion in cuts for construction grants to big airports, although officials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International said they weren't expecting any federal money.
It was the president's plans for Port of Savannah funding that state officials were anticipating the most.
While disappointed, Deal and others pointed out that Obama's inclusion of $600,000 in funding was at least a sign the president supports the project.
“While we would’ve liked to see more, this shows the administration is still in support of the project,” said Republican Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah.
State officials say time is critical to deepen the port and a 33-mile stretch of river heading to the open sea. Nearly 50 percent of traffic to and from Savannah travels through the Panama Canal. Virtually every port along the Atlantic Ocean wants to deepen harbors in order to accommodate the larger ships expected to begin passing through the canal in 2015.
“We need to get this thing done,” said Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.
Even so, Sonji Jacobs Dade, spokeswoman for Mayor Reed, cautioned that a project the size of the Savannah's takes time.
“This is a marathon and not a sprint,” she said. “The measure of this project will really be at the end of the process not at the beginning.”
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