A tale of two senators
Here's a nutshell view of the congressional earmarks debate and what members of Congress are supposed to be doing in DC:
South Carolina business leaders fear the Port of Charleston will fall behind its competitors because the Senate's 2011 appropriations bill doesn't include $400,000 to study deepening its harbor.
But U.S. Sen Lindsey Graham said Wednesday he's working to fix that.
"We're just seeing panic," Graham said. "It would be a complete economic disaster for South Carolina if our port is not set up to accommodate the larger ships that are coming through the Panama Canal."
At issue is whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will receive a congressional mandate and money to continue studying how to deepen South Carolina's main shipping channel to handle ever-larger container ships.
Also at issue is whether the state's interests will suffer if more of its congressional leaders pledge not to seek earmarks.
Graham's colleague, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, has condemned the earmark process and vowed not to seek any.
While U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., supported the earmark, his communications director, Sharon Axson, noted that he requested that other portions of the federal budget be decreased by at least $400,000 to avoid adding to the federal debt. State Rep. Tim Scott, considered the favorite to win Brown's seat in November, also has vowed not to seek earmarks.
Graham said he shares DeMint's concerns about earmarks, "but this is an example of where, at the federal level, the Congress and the Senate have to weigh in because the Corps of Engineers will only respond to congressional directive. They're looking at guidance from us."
DeMint said he supports both efforts to deepen the harbor and to reform the way the Corps of Engineers works. "Unfortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers is drowning in a massive backlog of projects because every year Congress passes hundreds of new earmarks they can't keep up with," he said.
U.S. Reps. Jim Clyburn and James Spratt, both Democrats, also helped ensure that $400,000 was added into the House's version of the appropriations bill.
Graham said it's unclear what will happen if the Senate doesn't follow suit.
Competing ports of Savannah; Jacksonville, Fla.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Norfolk, Va.; are on track to receive at least $300,000 in the most recent version of the Senate Energy and Water Bill.
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