WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA-09) secured wins to help protect both Lake Lanier’s name and recreation sites through the ongoing Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) appropriations process.
On July 17th, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY26 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill by a vote of 35-27. During the markup, Rep. Clyde:
Preserved a commonsense provision (Sec. 109) he requested and obtained in the base bill to prohibit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) from using taxpayer funds to rename civil works projects such as Lake Lanier. A Democrat-led amendment to remove this provision failed by a vote of 26-35.
Secured an amendment to allow local partners that manage multiple recreation sites at a USACE civil works project to spend collected user fees across all sites they oversee at that project, rather than being limited to using the fees only at the specific site where the funds were collected. The amendment mirrors Reps. Andrew Clyde and Rich McCormick’s Lanier Parks Local Access Act, which the pair introduced last week ahead of the markup.
Additionally, the Committee approved the FY26 Energy and Water appropriations bill report, which includes language requested by Rep. Clyde to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to collaborate with state and local partners to facilitate the transfer of management of park operations where appropriate, as well as to streamline the lengthy approval process for leasing USACE sites.
“I’m incredibly pleased that the FY26 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill includes critical provisions to both protect Lake Lanier’s name and help keep its parks open by providing local partners with flexibility to more effectively spend collected user fees,” said Clyde. “I will continue using every avenue at my disposal to advocate for commonsense solutions to preserve and improve Lake Lanier for Northeast Georgians and visitors.”
Rep. Clyde Offers Amendment to Expand Local Access to User Fees
Collected at Leased USACE Recreation Sites: Watch HERE
The FY26 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill now heads to the House floor. Additional resources on the Committee’s legislative activity on this annual spending bill are available HERE.
