U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and David Perdue, R-Ga., and U.S. Representative Buddy Carter, R-Ga.-01, urged Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James to keep the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project on track for the next fiscal year at a meeting with Georgia Ports Authority leadership in Isakson’s Washington, D.C, office.

As planning for the fiscal year 2020 budget continues, Isakson, Perdue and Carter thanked James for the administration’s focus on infrastructure and for ensuring the project received the full $101 million funding needed to keep the project on track in fiscal year 2019, as well as the need for additional funding this year. They also stressed the port’s continued record-breaking success that supports jobs, trade and the economy.

“The Port of Savannah is critical to Georgia’s economy, to successful global trade and to the thousands of jobs it supports,” said Isakson. “We appreciate the administration’s continued attention and actions to support this vital infrastructure project, and we will continue to press our case for its full, on-time funding.”

“The Port of Savannah is an economic engine for Georgia and the fastest growing port in the United States,” said Perdue. “After 19 years of delays, we finally secured full federal funding last year to keep the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project on track. Once completed, SHEP will contribute $282 million to our economy each year and will help our country compete globally. President Trump has made SHEP a priority, and we will continue working with the administration and Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the project is fully funded on time until completion."

“We had a productive discussion today with the Georgia Ports Authority and Assistant Secretary James about the critical need to keep the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project on schedule and sufficiently funded,” said Carter. “Assistant Secretary James has already seen the importance of SHEP firsthand in Savannah and I appreciate the administration’s support for this important project. With a benefit to cost ratio of 7.3 to 1, we will continue working with the administration until this project is completed and its benefits are fully realized.”

In advance of the administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget planning, letters were sent by Isakson and Perdue and by Carter and the Georgia U.S. House delegation to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney pointing to the project’s approaching final stages and requesting $132.28 million for the project in the president’s fiscal year 2020 budget.