WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Today, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released a
discussion draft
of legislation
titled the “Protecting America’s Recreation and Conservation (PARC)
Act,” which includes several substantive reforms to update the Land and
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), enacted in 1965.
“The
LWCF’s current lopsided funding ratio makes limited funds available to
establish recreation projects and facilities that can be responsibly
managed and maintained by
State and local entities while continuing to vastly expand the federal
estate,”
Bishop said. “Even more troubling on the federal side is that
the money is being spent with little transparency, scant oversight, and
minimal local input.”
Provisions
in the discussion draft include: changing appropriation ratios for
state and federal programs, emphasizing urban recreational access,
limiting funds that may be made
available for federal land acquisition or for eminent domain, and
designing programs to increase revenues and streamline permitting for
offshore energy projects.
Bishop is not alone in calling for much needed improvements to the law.
“Updating this law is a bipartisan effort.
Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, in a recent letter
called upon Congress ‘to rebalance funding toward the states’ and ‘renew
the Act with a restored commitment to an equitable share for state
grants” said
Bishop. “Other groups such as the American Wildlife
Conservation Partners have called on Congress to ‘modernize LWCF to
address contemporary issues’ and secure funding for programs that
‘continue its legacy of success.’”
In early October Bishop sent a
letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary
Tom Vilsack inquiring about the use of LWCF funds for federal land
acquisition. The Department of Interior’s
response letter failed to answer Bishop’s pressing questions about the use and abuse of LWCF funds.
To read the legislative draft, click
here.
To listen to the press call, click
here.
For a backgrounder, click
here.
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