Heidi Alexander: “if I may switch gears to another subject, briefly--on Monday, the Senate will be casting the most important vote on…”

“if I may switch gears to another subject, briefly--on Monday, the Senate will be casting the most important vote on conservation legislation, outdoors legislation, that we have had in 50 years. That is quite a statement to make because we do lots of legislation in the U.S. Senate. I am not exaggerating when I say that. This is a piece of legislation that will do more for our public Federal lands--our national parks, our fish and wildlife lands, our Bureau of Reclamation Lands, the lands that hunters and fishermen use--than any piece of legislation we have passed in at least 60 years. In addition, it will create permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has been a goal of Congress since it was passed first in 1964 and reaffirmed by Reagan's Commission on American Outdoors, which I chaired in 1985 and 1986. Finally, we are getting around to doing both of those things. This piece of legislation that I am describing has the strong support of President Trump. In fact, it couldn't happen without President Trump because the Office of Management and Budget has to approve the method of funding we are using. They have approved it, and it is in the President's budget. It has the support of 59 cosponsors in this body-- Democrats and Republicans--who are working together on it in a remarkable way. People say that we are divided. Well, we are in lots of ways, but in other ways we are not.…”