Still unwilling to accept the Obama Administration’s sudden roadblock of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, all 14 members of Georgia’s House delegation have signed a letter to the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, asking for the committee’s support.
The letter asks the committee to support federal construction funding for the project and to include language in the fiscal year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill that directs the Corps to sign an agreement allowing the state to proceed with its own funds. The bill includes funding for projects under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Click here to read the letter.
“This deserving project, backed by a bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation, praised by the president and vice-president, and cleared after a decade of exhaustive studies, should be fully funded and cleared for construction immediately to protect the 350,000-plus jobs supported by our ports and the $174 million in annual net benefits from this project,” said U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, a Savannah Republican.
Democrat Sanford Bishop agreed.
“The Savannah River deepening project is of vital importance to the Southeast and the entire nation,” said Bishop, whose district includes Macon, Columbus and Albany.
“Once the project is funded and completed, the port will be a major driver of economic development, create jobs and boost Georgia’s economy by opening access to world-class trade for the region.”
Until recently, the much-studied, 15-year-old deepening project was considered to be weeks — if not days — away from getting the green light.
The first blow came early last month when the president’s proposed 2015 budget contained no construction funding for the massive public works project.
A disappointed Gov. Nathan Deal vowed to begin construction using the more than $200 million in state money already set aside, rather than let it fall any farther behind schedule.
The second bombshell came when the White House told Deal he could not jump-start construction with state funds until the pending multi-billion-dollar Water Resources Development Bill cleared Congress and was signed into law.
That legislation contains language that would correct an outdated spending cap placed on the project when it was authorized by Congress 15 years ago.
But the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, approved by Congress and signed by the president in January, contained language allowing the project to proceed.
The administration disagreed and the Corps, reportedly taking their direction from the Office of Management and Budget, made it clear they were not going to fight the White House on the issue.
Next, U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson and all 14 members of the House fired off a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, outlining their position and requesting the project be allowed to move forward.
The answer to that request was swift and to the point.
No.
The latest letter puts the request back into congressional hands.
“It’s long overdue that we get this project started,” said Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican whose district stretches from the Atlanta suburbs into middle Georgia.
“The deepening of the Savannah Port provides crucial jobs throughout Georgia and has an impact on the state’s entire economy. We need this federal funding so we can move forward, and I strongly encourage the committee to include this project in their appropriations.”