The funding bill that streams billions in federal dollars to East Tennessee through Oak Ridge National Laboratory is not likely to pass the House, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, said.
The bill would also make an estimated $120 million in funding cuts in Tennessee. Fleischmann spoke about the status of the legislation over the weekend at a Republican fundraising event in Chattanooga.
Fleischmann chairs the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee. As chair, Fleischmann works to pass the energy and water development appropriations bill, one of the 12 annual spending bills that fund the federal government. The bill has cleared the House Committee on Negotiations and now moves to the floor for a full vote.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga city officials thank Fleischmann for federal funds)
While the 2027 funding bill provides billions in federal investments for the lab’s quantum and nuclear research in Oak Ridge, around 100 miles north of Chattanooga, it also includes proposed cuts to the Army Corps of Engineers’ program to clean up hazardous waste and would reduce funding in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy.