WASHINGTON — Congress has yet to complete its annual task of funding government agencies, prompting a monthlong partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
So far, Congress has passed 11 appropriation bills to fund the rest of the federal government, and members of Georgia’s congressional delegation have carved out tens of millions in those bills to pay for projects in their home districts. Known as “earmarks,” the carveouts range from funding for universities to major construction projects to smaller items like new sidewalks.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter earlier this year celebrated the $4.2 million he obtained in a funding bill to complete a Riverwalk restoration project adjacent to the Savannah Convention Center, saying the money will help fortify the sea wall to ensure the city remains a tourist destination.
“With this funding, the Riverwalk Renovation Project will create a welcoming, first-class campus that will create jobs and benefit residents and tourists alike,” Carter, R-St. Simons Island, said in a statement.
The annual earmarks process creates strange bedfellows. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Rep. Nikema Williams, who he helped oust as chairperson of the Democratic Party of Georgia, teamed up on several requests, including $300,000 for a job training and career center for Georgians returning from incarceration.
The two biggest earmarks this year for Georgia, according to documents posted by the House Appropriations Committee, are supported by Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who is vying for the Republican nomination to challenge Ossoff in November. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock joined them in the requests that resulted in $48.9 million for the operation and maintenance of Savannah Harbor and another $17.9 million for the Brunswick Harbor.
Most members of Georgia’s delegation from both sides of the aisle were successful in landing earmarks for their districts, including freshman Republican Rep. Brian Jack, whose projects include $1.98 million to help the City of Hope Cancer Center in Newnan purchase an AI-powered cancer detection system.
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, who is one of the senior-most members on the Appropriations Committee, said advocating for community projects fulfills a promise he made to his constituents to spend their tax dollars wisely.
“I have worked really hard to position myself to get on the Appropriations Committee so I’m in a position to sit at the table to help allocate those resources,” Bishop, D-Albany, said. “I’m very, very proud to be able to go home and present those ceremonial big checks representing a return of investments of their tax dollars into our respective communities.”
But not every lawmaker has the same outlook. U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, hasn’t ever requested earmarks and said he isn’t planning to change — even as Republican challengers for his seat say this position harms the district by limiting the money that flows from Washington.
Clyde believes earmarks contribute to the ballooning budget deficit and represent irresponsible spending. Because this spending often includes projects that wouldn’t be funded otherwise in the appropriations process, Clyde believes they are illegal.
“You will find that many earmarks do not fall within the authority of the federal government, not its responsibility and certainly not its authority to spend the money,” he said recently. “So, unless it falls within those authorities, it is an unconstitutional spending of money.”
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