WASHINGTON -- There was once a time when Middle Georgia lawmakers, members of the region’s business community and the lobbyists who represent them could fly in to Washington, D.C., and present a wish list to members of the state’s congressional delegation with a reasonable expectation that many of the requests would be fulfilled.
What a difference a recession makes.
This year, requests from cities such as Columbus and Macon happened to occur in the wake of an epic showdown about raising the debt ceiling, an ongoing Republican-led moratorium on earmarking federal funds for pet projects, calls to trim federal spending and a wave of tea party congressional newcomers, including Rep. Austin Scott, who represents the 8th Congressional District that includes Macon.
According to members of Congress, the message this year is quite clear:
“The thing he is telling his constituents back home is that’s not a service we can provide anymore and the federal government can’t afford to keep writing to keep checks that it just can’t cash,” said Leslie Shedd, spokeswoman for Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, a 3rd District Republican from Newnan. “The U.S. Congress is not taking requests for millions and billions of dollars for earmarks.”
Welcome to the world of recession-era lobbying.
“The whole lobbying playbook has to be tossed out,” said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based budget watchdog organization. “The idea that you could be a former appropriations staffer and hang out your shingle and get clients has gone the way of the dodo. The earmark factory shops have taken a hit.”
In 2008, when the region turned to Westmoreland to get $245,000 to improve the I-75/ Bruton Smith Parkway Interchange in McDonough, the lawmaker was able to secure the money relatively quickly.
That year alone, Westmoreland co-sponsored $4.9 million in earmarks for everything from improved medical equipment and record keeping to fruit and vegetable research, according to LegiStorm, a website that tracks federal spending.
During the next two years, Westmoreland made no earmarks requests.
Mike Gaymon, president of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, said that in years past the city was able to get millions in federal dollars to do everything from fixing storm and sewage runoff problems, study the feasibility of better using the railroad marshalling yard behind the chamber’s headquarters, helping build the National Infantry Museum and completing a highway interchange near Fort Benning.
But his conversations with Westmoreland and 2nd District Democrat Rep. Sanford Bishop of Albany of late have taken on a decidedly different tone.
“The world has changed and we have to get a handle on our total debt and both parties need to realize what used to be isn’t anymore,” Gaymon said. “Projects might be worthwhile, but the well is running dry and we have to live within our means.”
For Middle Georgia, such changes have meant shifting both the expectations and the approach when seeking government funding.
This year, Macon chose not to renew its $120,000 contract with Blank Rome Government LLC, which has represented the city’s interests in the nation’s capital in the past.
Blank Rome was employed as a lobbyist for the city during former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis’ administration and proved key in securing the grants that helped refurbish Terminal Station. Among Blank Rome’s accomplishments it listed in a memo sent to Mayor Robert Reichert and the council last year, the firm reported that it organized several meetings with key members of the state’s congressional delegation for Reichert on a dozen requests and identified numerous grant opportunities.
The firm said it also identified grant opportunities with several federal agencies
Based on recommendations made by Blank Rome to the city, former Rep. Jim Marshall ended up requesting $750,000 for a truck route on Seventh Street; $70,000 for exhaust ventilation system improvements to the city’s maintenance shop facility; and $1.4 million to extend the Middle Georgia Regional Airport’s runway. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican requested $800,000 on the city’s behalf to replace the city’s public safety and first responder communications system. Blank Rome began working for the city in 2005.
But since then, the federal till has dried up, Macon city officials say.
Absent a lobbyist’s inside connections, Macon’s grant proposal writer has redoubled efforts to seek state and private funds to make up the shortfall, said Clay Murphey, director of external affairs with the city of Macon.
“The way you did things 12 months ago is so different,” Murphey said. Things “had dried up long before we didn’t have a lobbyist. There are no earmarks.”
To be sure, lobbyists still aggressively compete for a dwindled pool of money.
However “they are also going to try and be creative in writing bills that aren’t earmarks but have the same effect,” said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense. He said that sometimes those bills are “reverse-engineered” in a way that doesn’t specify where the money is going but makes clear the funds could only be used in one way or place.
“The other way is to fund something to a level that you create a favorable climate for your project to go forward,” he said. “The idea being a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Macon officials are hopeful that Bishop’s status as a veteran lawmaker and his position on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, coupled with Fort Benning’s cache as a high-profile military installation in his district, will mean that the city will benefit from that rising tide when the veteran lawmaker claims parts of Bibb County after redistricting.
“But we’ve got to educate him on what we’re doing and what we need,” Murphey said.
In fiscal year 2010 alone, Bishop sponsored or co-sponsored 67 earmarks totaling $60.5 million and ranked 42nd out of the 435 representatives for the amount of money netted, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks federal spending. Fort Benning got $8 million in earmarks and Columbus $3.2 million that year.
This year, Bishop said he has spoken informally with officials from Columbus and Macon about their needs and plans a visit to Macon soon.
“Their needs are as great as they have ever been, but they understand that our fiscal climate is as stringent as it has ever been,” Bishop said. “There’s a limit on federal dollars to get our fiscal house in order. But we also have needs. The requests are going to have to be prioritized.”
Telegraph writer Phillip Ramati contributed to this report.
