WASHINGTON - Georgia's military bases are among the beneficiaries of a $2.4 trillion budget President Bush sent to Congress Monday, but the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would get a major cut in its construction money.
The 1,268-page document, which kicks off the debate over next years federal spending, features major increases in defense and homeland security. However, it also includes record deficits.
Georgia Democrat Zell Miller, a close Bush ally, raised concerns about the deficit in a letter he sent Monday to Senate colleagues. In the letter, Miller pitched his proposal that would reduce congressional pay levels in years in which the government is forced to operate in the red.
"None of these cuts will be easy, and many of them will hurt," he wrote. "But we have to do what's right. We have to streamline, reorganize and downsize the federal government now. What better way to let our constituents know we are serious about controlling spending than by tying it to our own pay?"
Tenth District Congressman Nathan Deal of Gainesville, a Republican, announced a similar plan last week.
The CDC, which gained national visibility during the anthrax and SARS episodes, would see an overall reduction under Bush's request from an estimated $4.5 billion this year to $4.1 billion in 2005.
Far larger cuts were proposed for construction and improvements at CDC's Atlanta headquarters. Bush is asking for only $81.5 million in construction money next year, less than half of what he requested for this year and less than a third of what Congress ultimately spent.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said he wasn't concerned about the proposed cuts, pointing out there is a long tradition of the administration low-balling the construction money, then Congress deciding to spend more.
"We'll start here and work throughout the year to secure the appropriate funds to allow CDC scientists access to the best, most modern equipment and facilities possible to continue protecting our country, and the world, from biohazardous threats," Chambliss said.
The CDC is currently undergoing a 10-year, $1.5 billion project to ensure state-of-the-art facilities. So far, it is well ahead of schedule, with two-thirds of the estimated cost already allocated in past congressional spending bills.
Fort Benning would receive almost half of the state's $148 million allocation for new military construction, including money for its barracks complex and a physical training center. Fort Stewart would get more than $65 million, including a command and control facility and an aircraft maintenance hangar.
There was also good news for several weapons systems with Georgia ties. The F/A-22 Raptor, manufactured in part at Lockheed Martin in Marietta, would have its construction increased from 22 this year to 24 next year. The total price tag of $4.72 billion is down somewhat, primarily because the program is moving beyond the research phase and into full-scale construction.
Funding for the extra two Raptors had been temporarily threatened last year when Sen. John Warner, R-VA., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he might block it because of a software glitch.
Marietta also works on the airframe for the C-130J transport, which would see its overall funding rise from $857 million to $1.5 billion.
Bush's budget also includes $155 million for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, a $33 million increase from 2004. The Glynn County facility was recently moved to the Department of Homeland Security, which has expanded its scope and funding level.
According to the White House, Georgia would receive $404 million in 2005 under the No Child Left Behind education bill, a 7.3 percent increase from 2004. The state would get more than $4 billion for Medicaid, $1.9 billion for veterans and $142 million in the federal Women, Infants and Children program.
Tuesday
April 29th, 2025
11:15PM
