U.S. Rep. for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District Rich McCormick recently amended an appropriations resolution regarding Lake Lanier.
On the House floor on Wednesday, McCormick made the amendment to House Resolution (H.R.) 4553, or the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
The bill looks to provide fiscal year 2026 appropriations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civil works projects, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and more.
The entire package got approved on Thursday in a narrow 214 to 213 vote, providing $57.3-billion in funds to those agencies, a $766.4-million decrease from FY2025.
The amendment McCormick made on Wednesday was to prohibit funds from the act being used to close campgrounds on Lake Lanier run by USACE.
That amendment was vocally agreed on by members of the house.
The spending bill will now go to the Senate for a vote to provide funding to the various energy and water infrastructure agencies.
The bill was passed on mostly partisan lines, with all 214 “yeas” being Republicans, 209 “nays” being Democrats, and the other 4 “nays” being dissenting Republicans.
A press release from the House Appropriations Committee states that the spending bill codifies President Donald Trump’s executive actions by “prohibiting funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Critical Race Theory programs and ending federal censorship of free speech” and allowing lawful carry of firearms on USACE land.
They also said that the spending provisions will eliminate the Biden administration’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
