Senate Passes The Great American Outdoors Act

Above, Lower Yellowstone Falls of the Yellowstone River. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Republican-led U.S. Senate has passed the Great American Outdoors Act which will fund the backlogged maintenance projects of our national parks in a rare show of bi-partisanship.

According to the Good News Network:

In a rare moment of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate voted 73-25 to pass the Great American Outdoors Act, a funding bill that one lawmaker called the “single greatest conservation achievement in generations.” 

The Outdoors Act creates a fund into which not less than 50% of all revenues made from energy production on public lands—from oil and gas drilling and renewables—to be dedicated to finally funding over $20 billion worth of delayed maintenance projects in America’s national parks and public lands. 

70% of the fund’s contents will go to the National Parks Service for projects in America’s national parks, encompassing over 400 places of historic, recreational, and scientific importance, from the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone to the Appomattox Courthouse and Statue of Liberty. Another 15% will go to the Forest Service, for maintenance on public lands, while 5% will be given to the Bureau of Indian Education, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Fish and Wildlife Service respectively.

The bill now goes over to the House of Representatives. If passed in the House, it will then go to President Trump for signature.

To read more, go here.