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You have to love the redumblicans timing. Do they ever get anything right?
New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faces
New Orleans CityBusiness, Jun 6, 2005 by Deon Roberts
In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal
funding.
It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans
district, Corps officials said.
I've been here over 30 years and I've never seen this level of reduction,
said Al Naomi, project manager for the New Orleans district. I think part of
the problem is it's not so much the reduction, it's the drastic reduction in
one fiscal year. It's the immediacy of the reduction that I think is the
hardest thing to adapt to.
There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and
flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms.
Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5
hurricane has been shelved for now.
Money is so tight the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people,
instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions. The freeze is the
first of its kind in about 10 years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps'
Programs Management Branch.
Stephen Jeselink, interim commander of the New Orleans Corps district, told
employees in an internal e-mail dated May 25 that the district is
experiencing financial challenges. Execution of our available funds must be
dealt with through prudent districtwide management decisions. In addition to
a hiring freeze, Jeselink canceled the annual Corps picnic held every June.
Congress is setting the Corps budget.
The House of Representatives wants to cut the New Orleans district budget 21
percent to $272.4 million in 2006, down from $343.5 million in 2005. The
House figure is about $20 million lower than the president's suggested
$290.7 million budget.
It's now up to the Senate. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, is making no
promises.
It's going to be very tough, Landrieu said. The House was not able to add
back this money ... but hopefully we can rally in the Senate and get some of
this money back.
Landrieu said the Bush administration is not making Corps of Engineers
funding a priority.
I think it's extremely shortsighted, Landrieu said. When the Corps of
Engineers' budget is cut, Louisiana bleeds. These projects are literally
life-and-death projects to the people of south Louisiana and they are (of)
vital economic interest to the entire nation.
The Corps' budget could still be beefed up, as it is every year, through
congressional additions. Last year, Congress added $20 million to the
overall budget of the New Orleans district but a similar increase this year
would still leave a $50 million shortfall.
One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the
Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the
May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany
parishes. SELA's budget is being drained from $36.5 million awarded in 2005
to $10.4 million suggested for 2006 by the House of Representatives and the
president.
The project manager said there would be no contracts awarded with this $10.4
million, Demma said.
The construction portion of the Corps' budget would suffer if Congress
doesn't add money. In 2005, the district received $94.3 million in federal
dollars dedicated to construction. In 2006, the proposal is for $56 million.
It would be critical to this city if we had a $50 million construction
budget compared with the past years, Demma said. It would be horrible for
the city, it would be horrible for contractors and for flood protection if
this were the final number compared to recent years and what the city needs.
Construction generally has been on the decline for several years and focus
has been on other projects in the Corps.
The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and improve
levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson
and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are included in a Corps line item
called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding is scheduled to be cut from $5.7
million this year to $2.9 million in 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay
salaries but little else.
We'll do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to
go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in the
field, and that's the problem, Naomi said.
The Appropriations Committee in Congress will ultimately decide how much the
New Orleans district will receive, he said.
Obviously, the decisions are being made up there that are not beneficial to
the state, in my opinion, Naomi said. Let's put it this way: When (former
Rep.) Bob Livingston (R-Metairie) was chairman of the Appropriations
Committee, we didn't have a monetary problem. Our problem was how do we
spend all the money we were getting.
Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
You have to love the redumblicans timing. Do they ever get anything right?
New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers faces
New Orleans CityBusiness, Jun 6, 2005 by Deon Roberts
In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal
funding.
It would be the largest single-year funding loss ever for the New Orleans
district, Corps officials said.
I've been here over 30 years and I've never seen this level of reduction,
said Al Naomi, project manager for the New Orleans district. I think part of
the problem is it's not so much the reduction, it's the drastic reduction in
one fiscal year. It's the immediacy of the reduction that I think is the
hardest thing to adapt to.
There is an economic ripple effect, too. The cuts mean major hurricane and
flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms.
Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5
hurricane has been shelved for now.
Money is so tight the New Orleans district, which employs 1,300 people,
instituted a hiring freeze last month on all positions. The freeze is the
first of its kind in about 10 years, said Marcia Demma, chief of the Corps'
Programs Management Branch.
Stephen Jeselink, interim commander of the New Orleans Corps district, told
employees in an internal e-mail dated May 25 that the district is
experiencing financial challenges. Execution of our available funds must be
dealt with through prudent districtwide management decisions. In addition to
a hiring freeze, Jeselink canceled the annual Corps picnic held every June.
Congress is setting the Corps budget.
The House of Representatives wants to cut the New Orleans district budget 21
percent to $272.4 million in 2006, down from $343.5 million in 2005. The
House figure is about $20 million lower than the president's suggested
$290.7 million budget.
It's now up to the Senate. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, is making no
promises.
It's going to be very tough, Landrieu said. The House was not able to add
back this money ... but hopefully we can rally in the Senate and get some of
this money back.
Landrieu said the Bush administration is not making Corps of Engineers
funding a priority.
I think it's extremely shortsighted, Landrieu said. When the Corps of
Engineers' budget is cut, Louisiana bleeds. These projects are literally
life-and-death projects to the people of south Louisiana and they are (of)
vital economic interest to the entire nation.
The Corps' budget could still be beefed up, as it is every year, through
congressional additions. Last year, Congress added $20 million to the
overall budget of the New Orleans district but a similar increase this year
would still leave a $50 million shortfall.
One of the hardest-hit areas of the New Orleans district's budget is the
Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created after the
May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany
parishes. SELA's budget is being drained from $36.5 million awarded in 2005
to $10.4 million suggested for 2006 by the House of Representatives and the
president.
The project manager said there would be no contracts awarded with this $10.4
million, Demma said.
The construction portion of the Corps' budget would suffer if Congress
doesn't add money. In 2005, the district received $94.3 million in federal
dollars dedicated to construction. In 2006, the proposal is for $56 million.
It would be critical to this city if we had a $50 million construction
budget compared with the past years, Demma said. It would be horrible for
the city, it would be horrible for contractors and for flood protection if
this were the final number compared to recent years and what the city needs.
Construction generally has been on the decline for several years and focus
has been on other projects in the Corps.
The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and improve
levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson
and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are included in a Corps line item
called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding is scheduled to be cut from $5.7
million this year to $2.9 million in 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay
salaries but little else.
We'll do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to
go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in the
field, and that's the problem, Naomi said.
The Appropriations Committee in Congress will ultimately decide how much the
New Orleans district will receive, he said.
Obviously, the decisions are being made up there that are not beneficial to
the state, in my opinion, Naomi said. Let's put it this way: When (former
Rep.) Bob Livingston (R-Metairie) was chairman of the Appropriations
Committee, we didn't have a monetary problem. Our problem was how do we
spend all the money we were getting.
Copyright 2005 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
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