House aims to vote on public lands legislation by July 4

The House could vote before July 4 on a massive public lands package, a senior Democratic aide told CQ Roll Call. The Senate is scheduled to resume debate Monday and vote to adopt the public lands bill as a substitute amendment to an underlying tax bill. A final vote to pass the amended bill could come as early as Tuesday before it's sent to the House. With 59 cosponsors and Gardner, the bill will almost certainly overcome the remaining procedural hurdles in the Senate and pass. It's unclear if some House members will push to make changes to the bill when it's taken up. A spokesperson for Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., who introduced the original House companion bill, said the lawmaker expects the House to take the Senate-passed legislation directly to the floor. But the spokesperson added that the exact path through the House is subject to leadership's call. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation would add $17.3 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade. Tom Cors, director of government relations for lands at The Nature Conservancy, who has been in close contact with the lawmakers pushing the bill, told CQ Roll Call, he expects a vote on Tuesday and wide support in the House. "This number-one has been a long standing priority of the conservation community to really address a reliable funding mechanism for not only the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but also for maintenance of our public lands," Cors said, adding that investing in public lands is important as people return to the outdoors and need jobs to get back on their feet after the coronavirus pandemic...MORE