The Great American Outdoors Act will receive a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday, July 22. The bill is expected to pass the House and make its way to President Trump’s desk, where it will become law, hopefully. The lead sponsor of the House’s bill, Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, had this to say: “Last year we permanently reauthorized LWCF and now the time has come to make its funding permanent…I stand with our community, environmental and sportsmen groups, and business and tourism leaders to urge my colleagues to pass the Great American Outdoors Act as soon as possible, permanently fund LWCF and address the maintenance backlog across our national parks and public lands.â€
The GAOA will fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation fund ($900 million annually)–one of the most successful conservation programs in the United States–and provide billions of dollars to address a massive maintenance backlog on public lands. This stands to be one of the biggest wins for conservation and public lands in decades.
Let your Representative know that you support the Great American Outdoors Act today! Both Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and Trout Unlimited have provided you easy to use forms to contact your Congresspeople: Take Action (BHA) and FUND CONSERVATION, FUND OUR FUTURE (TU).
For more on this bill and what exactly the Land and Water Conservation Fund is, check out our previous article:
ÂWhat Exactly is the Land and Water Conservation Fund and What Just Passed the Senate?
