U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde took up the fight against suggested changes to Lake Lanier’s historical moniker which honors poet and Confederate Army Private, Sidney Lanier.
March 2023 marked a pause in federal efforts — and a win for Clyde’s agenda — to follow through on broader plans to rename landmarks and military bases named for Confederate figures.
Also potentially on the chopping block, Buford Dam.
The City of Buford, and by extension Buford Dam, was named for Lt. Col. Algernon Sidney Buford, a member of the Virginia militia who was also president of the railroad which is credited for helping put the town on the map after the Civil War.
Rep. Clyde introduced an amendment to H.R. 4394 – the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill – to prevent taxpayer dollars from being appropriated for what many see as misguided efforts to rename civil works projects.
The House also passed the FY24 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill with an amendment co-sponsored by Rep. Clyde and Rep. Rich McCormick which will prevent the use of funds to close campgrounds operated by the USACE on Lake Lanier.
In a press release issued on Nov. 3 by the Georgia representative’s office, Rep. Clyde expressed:
“I’m very pleased that the FY24 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill passed the House with my amendment to prohibit funds from being used to rename civil works projects such as Lake Lanier.
Our initial efforts forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pause its plan to rename Lake Lanier and Buford Dam — but the passage of this bill marks another major win for Northeast Georgians, as these renamings would attempt to radically rewrite history and thrust crushing costs on our community. While the House-passed Energy and Water Development appropriations bill still must be ironed out with the Senate in conference negotiations, I will fight to ensure my amendment to bar taxpayer dollars from funding the renaming of any civil works project remains in the final bill text.”
