What’s in the $1.5 trillion spending bill for Columbus and Macon? Here’s a breakdown
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a $1.5 trillion federal omnibus spending package that will fund several projects in the Columbus and Macon areas.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 received bipartisan support in the Senate, clearing its final hurdle before it reached the president’s desk. The bill passed by a vote of 68-31.
Fort Benning and Fort Valley State University are among the local institutions that benefit from the bill. Here’s a breakdown of the projects.
What will Columbus and Macon get?
Projects in the Columbus and Macon areas to receive funding include:
- $75 million for barracks and headquarters construction at Fort Benning.
$1.5 million to the Georgia Family Connection Partnership to support Get Georgia Reading Campaign efforts within Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District. The campaign is Georgia’s third-grade reading proficiency initiative. Much of Columbus and Macon reside within GA-02.
$746,250 for a collaborative project between Fort Valley State University and Albany State University to establish community gardens that will help eliminate food deserts, promote outdoor activity and healthy living.
$500,000 to the Urban League of Greater Columbus to renovate its facilities so the organization can better provide services to the local community.
“Through this alliance with Albany State University, we are enhancing our ability to directly impact economically strained rural communities in Middle and Southwest Georgia that have been identified as food deserts,” Fort Valley State President Paul Jones said in a statement. “We’re pleased to have an opportunity to not only provide education on nutrition and healthy lifestyle changes but also greater access to more nutritious foods through gardening.”
The bill provides $11 million in funding for projects in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District that “promote literacy, healthcare, education, infrastructure, community programs, and public safety,” U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop said in a news release.
Bishop said he secured funding for those local projects. The bill includes $13.6 billion in humanitarian, security, and economic assistance for Ukraine and neighboring countries.
The bill also funds:
A 2.7% pay raise for all 2.1 million uniformed U.S. service members and roughly 750,000 civilian Defense Department employees.
$97.5 billion for veterans’ medical care
$1.4 billion for military family housing
$3.5 billion for agriculture research programs
“This legislation touches the lives of every American in so many ways — all impacting their quality of life. I was proud to co-author and lead the effort to pass this funding bill,” Bishop said. “It makes the robust investments America needs to keep safe, deal with world crises — like the invasion of Ukraine — and unburden working people like those here in Georgia. It invests in our first responders, servicemembers, and veterans as well as our working families, teachers, small business owners, and farmers that drive our economy.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 2:13 PM.