Programs Secure Funding As Deficit Soars
WASHINGTON -Despite the ballooning deficit, Congress recently voted to grant $11 billion to local projects around the country, according to a tally by Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz.
McCain calls the money “run-of-the-mill pork.” But to others, the grants represent much-needed subsidies for important projects.
New Hampshire is slated to receive nearly $264 million for 77 programs and Maine will receive nearly $46.6 million for 60 programs, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent watch group.
One of the winners in the budget process was St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua , which is expected to receive $1.5 million for an Oncology Center of Excellence. The center is part of a $25 million program to add a new 60,000-square-foot ambulatory care program, said Julia Eberhart, the hospital’s vice president of planning and marketing.
The oncology center, scheduled to open in 2006, will help people with all types of cancer. “We’re hoping our ability to develop an oncology program here will keep more people in the state for their cancer care,” Eberhart said in a telephone interview.
Although administrators asked for $3 million in federal money, Eberhart said hospital officials are happy to receive half their request. “We’re very appreciative to the congressmen in New Hampshire that gained access to these funds,” she said.
Elliot Hospital in Manchester will receive $1 million to renovate the maternity ward and expand neonatal programs. “We’re ecstatic about it,” said Rick Elwell, senior vice president and chief financial officer. The entire project will cost $4.7 million and is expected to be completed in the next 18 months, said Elwell. Currently the neonatal program is operating at more than 100 percent of capacity, he said, and needs more space.
The Greater Manchester Family YMCA will receive $700,000 towards creating 20 single-room apartments to ease the lack of affordable student housing in the area. The YMCA will be working with the New Hampshire Institute of Art, the University of New Hampshire ‘s Manchester campus and the New Hampshire Community Technical College to develop the fourth floor of its building, said YMCA President Harold Jordan.
The YMCA rooms have been vacant since 1985 and, for the first time, the building will provide access for disabled people with elevator service to all floors, Jordan said. The renovation should be completed by mid-August, he said.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to death,” said Jordan . After seeking money from a number of sources, the YMCA was going to cancel the project, he said, until Sen. Judd Gregg, R.-N.H., “stepped up to the plate and applied for the Housing and Urban Development fund.”
Berlin Water Works will receive $500,000 to continue water distribution system improvements, said Roland Viens, the superintendent of Boston Water Works. Berlin had a “poor distribution system” with a majority of the pipes corroded, shallow, and old, Viens added.
“It will make a real difference to the city of Berlin ,” said Sen. John Sununu, R.-N.H.. “It will upgrade the city and water sewage facility.”
Because the community is so far north and as much as 13,000 feet above sea level, the shallow pipes freeze easily, said Viens. Berlin has had a water program that allows residents to run their water during wintertime so the lines won’t freeze. This meant that the average customer used 1000 gallons of water a day on an average winter day. Improving the water system will make that unnecessary and lead to water conservation, Viens said.
In Maine , the state Transportation Department will receive $4 million to defray the cost of rebuilding the Waldo-Hancock Bridge , over the Penobscot River between Prospect and Verona . The total cost will be between $65 million and $75 million, said department spokeswoman Carol Morris. Last summer, workers found a corrugated main suspension cable on the 73-year-old bridge.
The cables are needed so that “80,000 pounds can go over the bridge,” said project manager Kevin Philbrook, of Cianbro, which is rebuilding the bridge.
“It’s good news that we got that money,” said Morris. The project is expected to be finished next year.
The University of Southern Maine will receive $650,000 of the $2.4 million it requested to update and renovate science labs, equipment and instructional manuals at its Portland campus. “This modernization will allow us to ensure that our graduates are well prepared as possible to enter a competitive work environment,” said spokesman Bob Caswell.
The National Cold Water Aquaculture Center in Franklin will receive $270,000 to initiate a breeding program on Atlantic salmon and other cold water fish, said Wilda Martinez, area director for the North Atlantic Agriculture Research Service.
The budget deficit is projected at $521 billion this year, and President Bush has proposed a bare-bones budget for fiscal 2005 that eliminates or curtails many domestic spending programs. As a result, debate about local projects – pork – is likely to intensify next year.
“Throughout my tenure in the Congress, I have always believed that balancing the federal budget is critical as it requires us to set our national priorities,” Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said in a statement.
Congress is “spending like we have a trillion dollar surplus,” said Keith Ashdown, vice president of policy and communications at Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Gregg defended funding the local programs. “The federal appropriations bill, which is all non-defense and non-homeland security spending, passed by Congress and signed into law last month stays within the budget caps set by Congress,” he said in a statement.
Sununu concurred, saying that Congress stayed within its budget of $786 billion for discretionary spending. “Once we set the level, we worked within that limit to make sure New Hampshire is fairly represented,” he said.
