A funny thing happened in Congress this week. Instead of more infighting on federal spending, House Republicans opted for party unity to pass legislation to fund federal agencies through September.
It was the first time since Republicans won back the House in 2022 that they didn’t need help from Democrats to keep the government funded.
Georgia’s delegation split along party lines — Republicans all supported the bill and Democrats opposed it.
“I have generally opposed CR’s,” said U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, referring to the temporary funding bills which have become all too common on Capitol Hill.
But this time, Clyde and many other conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus backed the idea, despite misgivings, at the urging of President Donald Trump.
“This bill is not what the American people had in mind when they voted last November,” said U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwannee. “We are still spending too much.”
It would have been easy for McCormick, Clyde and other Georgia Republicans to sabotage this plan.
The bill has no big spending cuts. It did nothing to codify the budget cutting work of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative. And it left in place policy deals cut with President Joe Biden in 2024.
But the goal was simple: Keep the government open to allow Trump and Musk to make more cuts, while Congress gets moving on the president’s agenda and the 2026 budget.
There was one victory for some conservatives, as this plan did not include any budget earmarks for local spending projects.
But that move came at a price for state lawmakers, as it sidelined millions of dollars in funding for projects sought by both parties.
For example, Georgia lost out on over $30 million in funding for a variety of water infrastructure projects across the state, plus $2.5 million for a water quality initiative at Lake Lanier.
Also going nowhere were a variety of road and bridge projects, such as $5 million to widen I-16, all of which had already been approved by a key U.S. House spending panel.
It shouldn’t go unmentioned how badly the budget process is broken on Capitol Hill.
This is believed to be the first time that Congress has used a temporary funding plan — based on the previous year’s budget — to finish its work.
“If you want to keep the government open, it’s probably the least crazy option available,” said Joshua Huder, a congressional expert at Georgetown University. “It’s absurd the Congress is here in the first place.”
Huder is right. It is absurd. Congress hasn’t met the Sept.r 30 deadline on government funding bills since 1996.
Republicans have promised change. We’ll see if they can deliver.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C., since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at http://jamiedupree.substack.com
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
