WASHINGTON — Seventy-five Broward County business and community leaders flew into the nation's capital this week with an ambitious wishlist, encouraged by progress toward the expansion of Port Everglades but worried about restraints on federal spending.
The growing county wants a deeper and wider seaport, a new federal courthouse, money to pump tons of sand onto depleted beaches and funding for a streetcar system in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
They got no commitments but a supportive response from congressional leaders, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Republican Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster.
The three-day "Washington Summit" — led by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce and hosted by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel — served as a rallying point for the Broward agenda in the face of convulsions in Congress, which just managed to avert a government shutdown.
"The point is you have to keep coming up, you have to keep beating the drum, you have to keep asking for reasonable asks for federal appropriations," Dan Lindblade, president and CEO of the Chamber, said between briefings. "The federal government is essential to economic growth in South Florida. We'd have to have more taxes to fund it, and they don't have the appetite down there in Fort Lauderdale to increase anything."
"The feds have the deepest pockets, but the most hands in those pockets," he said. "We have to make sure we are at the trough, with the rest of the states, cities and counties."
A dredging project to expand Port Everglades to accommodate super-sized cargo ships remains the county's top priority because the port is considered an economic engine generating thousands of jobs and commercial spinoffs.
"Port Everglades is such an important linchpin to the next phase of our success," U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, told the Broward visitors.
They cheered when Port Director Steve Cernak noted that the Army Corps of Engineers had carved out $1.2 million to help pay for planning and designing the dredging project, which may begin construction in 2017.
They cheered again when Chairman Shuster, R-Pa., reaffirmed his determination to pass a water resources bill next year, which is needed to authorize spending on Port Everglades and other projects across the country.
And they welcomed news from Frankel that the Army Corps is in the final stages of approving a beach restoration project to shore up portions of a five-mile stretch along the shores of Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Pompano Beach.
The county and cities are sorting out how to split the $25 million local share of the cost. The federal share would be $30 million, if approved by Congress.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, a Senate candidate, urged the group to "help us get the message out other members of Congress who may not see the impact of beaches and the Everglades on the economy."
Fort Lauderdale was awarded $1.25 million this month from the Department of Transportation to pay for planning a Wave streetcar, a 2.7-mile system that will circulate downtown. It's expected to open in 2017.
And federal officials are studying the feasibility of building a new courthouse to replace the leaky and outmoded structure in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Broward leaders are exploring the possibility of speeding the process by building a federal courthouse with private funds, which would be reimbursed by Uncle Sam.
Frankel said concerted lobbying from back home impresses members from other states and helps secure funding for the region's pet projects.
"To me," she said, "this is the best example of how government should work: ideas bubble up from the people, and they actually get listened to and put into effect."