Political Quotes

“I rise to add my support for the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act. This landmark bipartisan bill directs significant funding to public lands nationwide, which will benefit communities across the country. This investment will continue to pay dividends for future generations. The purpose of this legislation is twofold. First, it provides $900 million per year in permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports the protection of Federal public lands and waters, including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and recreation areas, and voluntary conservation on private land. Importantly, this dedicated new funding would come from a portion of royalties on offshore oil and gas development, not the American taxpayer. Secondly, the bill establishes the National Park and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund. Similar to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, this is also funded through onshore and offshore energy revenues over 5 years, up to $1.9 billion annually for a total of $9.5 billion. Its sole purpose is to address the deferred maintenance needs of the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Education. Currently, the National Park Service alone has a backlog of approximately $12 billion. This legislation will go a long way in helping to complete priority maintenance projects across America's public lands.…”