Local Impact: O.C. Wins Some and Loses Some

The massive Santa Ana River flood control project, which could save as many as 3,000 lives during a major storm, got a big boost Wednesday when President Bush called for spending more than $90 million on the program in the next fiscal year.

In addition to the river project, the President’s 1993 budget request includes $3.65 million for design work on a $79-million federal courthouse to be built in Santa Ana, and billions for space exploration projects that are the bread and butter of several Orange County aerospace contractors.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the President’s budget cuts $1 billion from health and education programs designed to assist refugees and newly legalized immigrants. That decision is a defeat for Gov. Pete Wilson, who lobbied the Bush Administration for more funds while blaming the state’s economic troubles in part on the cost of immigrant services.

If the cuts are enacted by Congress, financially strapped Orange County would be forced to pay for more services that benefit its immigrant and refugee populations. The $300 million Bush proposed for immigrants is “a mere pittance,” one lawmaker said.

And despite Bush’s focus on urban problems in his State of the Union address, his budget calls for spending $2.2 billion less on urban mass transit during the next fiscal year than the $5.2 billion authorized by Congress.

Department of Transportation officials said the difference stems from the Administration’s continuing opposition to the use of federal transit funds to subsidize the operating expenses of bus or rail systems in large metropolitan areas, those with populations over 500,000.

The Administration’s position in the past has prompted sharp criticism from urban officials, who insist that they need the subsidies to avoid raising fares and losing riders. Congress has ignored the Administration view, allowing big cities to use federal money to help run their transit systems.

“We’re disappointed that (the Department of Transportation) would persist in that philosophy,” said Tom Fortune, manager of government relations for the Orange County Transportation Authority, which operates the Orange County Transit District bus system. This year, the authority received about $8.6 million in federal operating subsidies, which accounted for about 7.5% of its bus operating budget.

Bad news aside, Reps. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) and Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) praised the President’s decision to provide funds for the Santa Ana flood control project and the new courthouse.

The budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the river program, calls for spending $90.8 million for new construction and $2.3 million for operations and maintenance in the coming fiscal year. It is by far the largest water project request in California.

“The President has done his job; now it’s Congress’s turn,” said Dornan. “Funding for this project is the most single significant piece of legislation affecting central Orange County in many years.”

The project, which will cost an estimated $1.5 billion when completed, is intended to safeguard lives and $11 billion in property in Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

First funded three years ago, the program involves construction of a new 550-foot flood control dam in San Bernardino County, raising the Prado Dam in Riverside County and improving the flood channel along the Santa Ana River’s 100-mile sweep from the San Bernardino Mountains to Huntington Beach.

The project received $78 million in fiscal 1992, $65 million the year before that and $20 million in fiscal 1990.

The new, 218,000-square-foot courthouse, to be built in Santa Ana’s Civic Center, was authorized last year by the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation. It is intended to alleviate the logjam in temporary federal court facilities now located in Santa Ana.

Construction could begin as early as next year, Cox said Wednesday.

The Santa Ana site was chosen after officials from the U.S. General Services Administration evaluated proposals from Laguna Niguel and Irvine, as well as the county seat. Although the GSA first recommended a Laguna Niguel site, a subsequent report said Santa Ana, with its central location, would make the best home for the new facility.

The courthouse is expected to become a magnet for law offices and other businesses that serve the legal community.

The NASA budget request also could be a boon to Orange County aerospace companies. The Administration has asked for $2.25 billion for Space Station Freedom, the controversial orbiting space laboratory that survived a bruising budget battle in Congress last year. McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. in Huntington Beach, one of the three prime contractors for the station, holds space station contracts worth more than $3 billion.

And the President called for spending a total of $260 million on development work for the national aerospace plane--$80 million in the NASA budget and $180 million in the budget for the Department of Defense. The space plane would take off from a conventional runway and then fly into Earth orbit.

The aerospace plane is being developed by a consortium of five major contractors, headed by Rockwell International, which is basing most of the work at its Seal Beach facility.

Statewide, however, further spending cuts announced Wednesday by the Defense Department are expected to cost more than 200,000 jobs in California, analysts said. Bush proposed ending production of Northrop Corp.’s costly B-2 bomber as part of his bid to reduce defense spending but also requested increased spending for the Strategic Defense Initiative to $5.4 billion--more than $1 billion over the level Congress approved last year. TRW operates an SDI research facility in southern Orange County.

Defense cuts aside, said Sen. John Seymour (R-California), “we do very, very well. Many issues that are important to California are addressed, admittedly some of them not to the degree I would like.”

The Administration recommended $143 million for the Stanford Linear Accelerator, despite threats of steep cuts by the Department of Energy. The funding keeps hopes alive for construction of the “B-factory,” the next stage for high energy physics research in California.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in San Diego is slated to receive part of an $18-million increase as part of the Department of Energy’s magnetic fusion research project. The ITER project has its U.S. base at UC-San Diego, and has the European Community, Japan and the former Soviet Union as cooperating partners.

By far the biggest concern posed by the Bush budget was the slashing of funds for immigrant and refugee assistance programs.

For newly legalized immigrants, Bush proposed spending $300 million--far less than the $1.1 billion sought by Wilson, Seymour and California Democrats.

Congress had approved $4 billion to finance immigrant services as part of a landmark immigration reform bill in 1986, but began pouring the money into other programs. The Administration had planned to provide no funding, as it did last year, before being lobbied by Wilson and Seymour.

Asked if the $300-million figure would be sufficient for California, Seymour said “absolutely not.” He added: “But what this does is give us a beginning. Last year it was zeroed out. Now our job will be to get that number close to or at $1.1 billion.”

Democrats were not so optimistic. “California and the rest of the nation again get cheated . . . ,” said Sen. Alan Cranston. “The federal government owes the states $1.1 billion for outlays over several years, including $450 million for California.”

For the 184,000 refugees who entered California from Southeast Asia and other countries since 1985, Bush’s budget slashed funding for services from $410 million to $227 million. The biggest impact would be felt in cash and medical assistance, which was cut from $234 million to $50 million.

In passing the Refugee Act of 1980, Congress agreed to cover the first 36 months of cash and medical assistance, social services, employment and training provided to refugees by states and local government. The services now expire after eight months and are in further jeopardy with the proposed cuts, said Walter Barnes, chief of the refugee and immigration programs branch for the California Department of Social Services.

These cuts “pretty much eliminate the refugee cash and medical assistance program,” he said.

Impact of Bush Plan

President Bush’s $1.5-trillion budget for 1993 includes money for three major Orange County projects.

COURTHOUSE: Santa Ana is the site of a new federal courthouse. The budget contains $3.65 million in design money for the building.

SPACE STATION: The $2.25 billion for Space Station Freedom will benefit McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach, one of the contractors.

FLOOD-CONTROL: More than $90 million will go to flood-control projects along the entire length of the Santa Ana River.

Here is how the proposed budget will affect some people and projects nationwide:

WINNERS

Families: Expands the personal exemption for dependent children by $500 and waives penalties on IRA withdrawals for medical and educational expenses.

Yacht dealers: Repeals the “luxury tax” imposed two years ago on boast and airplanes.

Wall Street: Reduces the tax on capital gains in order to stimulate sales of stocks, bonds and other investment assets.

LOSERS

Immigrants: Cuts funding for previously authorized programs to assist newly legalized immigrants.

Defense industry: Hits hard at the entire defense industry, including major aircraft manufacturers and contractors.

Armed Forces: Eliminates one of every four uniformed personnel over the next five years. Much of this will occur through attrition, but some layoffs may take place.

THE 1993 BUDGET

Where it comes from: Individual income tax: 34% Social Security payroll tax: 29% Borrowing: 23% Corporate income tax: 7% Excise taxes: 3% Other: 4% Where it goes: Benefit payments to individuals: 43% National defense: 19% Net interest: 14% Grants to states and localities: 13% Deposit insurance: 5% Other: 6%