Tag: Congress

U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Augusta, championed ongoing support for the Savannah River port expansion during a visit with constituents Friday.

Barrow spoke to a few dozen members of the Martinez-Evans Rotary Club luncheon at First Baptist Church of Augusta.

When asked about the port of Savannah, Barrow said, “I’m optimistic that we’re going to complete that thing if only because the state of Georgia has a huge investment in this already.”

Barrow, who represented Savannah before district lines were redrawn, said the state spent $44 million in 15 years settling lawsuits related to the port project, a contentious environmental issue.

The state has pledged its cost share of the expansion but federal funding is slowing progress and completion, he said.

“When I arrived on the scene, this was essentially a Savannah versus the rest of the state kind of thing,” he said. “Members of Congress from that area did not see the connection between business in Atlanta and trade in Savannah. But they see it now.”

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has said the state could shoulder more of the costs if Washington does not come up with its portion.

via Barrow ‘optimistic’ state will complete Savannah port expansion | The Augusta Chronicle.

Of course, a generic approve/disapprove question in a poll doesn’t always translate into bad ratings for incumbents within their districts, or it wouldn’t be the case that incumbents are overwhelmingly reelected. But it can make it tough for, say, a Congressman in one of fourteen districts in Georgia, who decides to run statewide.

From Rasmussen:

Over half of voters think both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives are doing a poor job, but nearly as many also prefer having them run by different political parties the way Congress is now.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 12% of Likely U.S. Voters think the U.S. Senate is doing a good or excellent job. Fifty-three percent (53%) rate the Senate’s performance as poor.

Nineteen percent (19%) of voters believe the House is doing a good or excellent job, while 51% view its performance as poor.Continue Reading..