You may not have realized that a pair of projects designated for Door County was included in the $1.7 trillion in the Omnibus Appropriations Act passed on Thursday by the U.S. Senate.

You may not have realized that a pair of projects designated for Door County was included in the $1.7 trillion in the Omnibus Appropriations Act passed on Thursday by the U.S. Senate. The bill passed the Senate by a 68-29 margin. According to Senator Tammy Baldwin’s office, $3.3 million was earmarked for the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society to continue the transformation of the former Teweles and Brandeis grain elevator into an agricultural museum and event center. Another $900,000 will go to the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department for a new fire truck.

Senator Baldwin said afterward that she was proud that the funding package would bring $255 million to the state for community-driven projects “with critical investments for roads, bridges and water infrastructure, workforce development, access to health and child care, improvements for emergency services, and so much more.”

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson voted against the bill, even offering an amendment to eliminate $9.8 billion in earmarks. According to WisPolitics.com, he pointed out that Democrats and Republicans were both trying to get billions of dollars of pet projects passed in an over 4,000-page bill likely not many people had a chance to read. “Once again, Congress easily waived the ‘Paygo’ discipline to enable massive deficit spending to continue," said Johnson. "We are mortgaging our children’s future and a majority of the members of Congress couldn’t care less.” 

In addition to avoiding a government shutdown, the bill places a ban on TikTok on government devices, sends $45 billion to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and reforms to the Electoral County redefining the Vice President’s role in the process.