Bush Budget Will Hurt Lighthouses
By Sue Clark on Mar 20, 2008 in Featured, Opinion 
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Army Corps of Engineers Budget Also Slashed
East Hampton (NY) town supervisor Bill McGintee recently visited Washington D.C. to meet with officials regarding the erosion control projects for Montauk Point. Although the Army Corps of Engineers has approved these projects, which include rebuilding the beach around Montauk Point, a breakwater dredging project and more beach erosion control measures, the funding may not be guaranteed if the 2009 budget as written passes muster. “I want to make sure that the money is there once the studies are finished,” said McGintee in the story at Suffolk Life. The total cost of the Lighthouse cliff rebuilding alone will be $14 million dollars, but US Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Coram) is supportive of the projects, he is not as certain about how such funding would come to fruition, given the president’s proposed budget to Congress for next year. “All of these projects are important, and all have been authorized by [the] Army Corps of Engineers,” said Bishop. “The challenging part will be providing the funding.”
Funding for the Army Corps of Engineers is about $1 billion less than what is needed to fund all the projects that needs doing around the country. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for investigating, developing and maintaining the nation’s water and related environmental resources. And in fact, there’s a nice article on their home page about their role in rebuilding one of America’s most famous lighthouse, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. They’ve also built hundreds of other navigational aids and are also responsible for dredging channels for safe shipping, building breakwaters and more. Without them, marine activities would cease.
National Park Service Hit Hard
Along with cuts to the Corps, the National Park Service, which is responsible for many of our lighthouses, is being hit hard with funding cuts. The proposed budget would cut the Park Service’s construction budget by some $46 million, down to $172 million, a 21.1 percent drop. Also in line for a cut, by $21.9 million, or 32.5 percent, is the agency’s National Recreation and Preservation account, which funds community efforts across the country to preserve natural and cultural resources.
Of even more interest to the Lighthouse restoration effort are the following reductions to the National Park Service funding.
- Cultural Programs—$22 million (down from $23 million)
- Historic Preservation Fund—$66 million (down from $71.5 million)
- Preserve America program—$10 million (up from $7.5 million)
- Save America’s Treasures Program—$15 Million (down from $25 million)
- Grants-in-Aid—$41.7 million (down from $45.7million)
Because funding for the war in Iraq is so high, lighthouse preservationists and waterways maintenance are taking a huge hit in the proposed budget, along with other higher priorities (in my opinion) such as affordable health care, gas and energy prices, education and more.
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