The Great American Outdoors Act
Worried they’d lose November vote,
Republican Senators finally wrote,
A positive environmental bill.
The Great American Outdoors Act,
Now heads to the House for them to act,
“Bipartisanship” on The Hill?
© Forrest W. Heaton 19 June 2020
Do you know just how important YOUR vote is? Please read through this blog post to learn a bit more.
Were we in a non-polarized political environment, we would be unconditionally celebrating the Senate’s 17Jun20 passage of Senate 3422 The Great American Outdoors Act, then intending passage by the House of Representatives, then presidential signature. As it happens, however, whereas the content of the bill has been encouraged by environmental groups and us for years, it is clear to some (certainly us) that the motivation for Republican senators’ passing this legislation and presidential support is strictly political—their eyes on November’s elections.
In our opinion there is nothing “bipartisan” about Republican support of this legislation. They are keenly aware the American public is strongly in favor of legislation to offset the negative effects of the climate crisis while Republicans from the president down have been unwilling to even agree the crisis exists let alone enact mitigation legislation. Secondly, the bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, is facing a strong Democratic challenger in either John Hickenlooper, former Colorado Governor or Andrew Romanoff, former Colorado Speaker of the House. The League of Conservation Voters, one of the U.S.’s most effective environmental advocacy groups, has given Gardner a lifetime environmental legislation/action score of 11 percent. By helpful comparison, the League gives Colorado’s other senator, Democrat Michael Bennet, a lifetime score of 89 percent. Trump lost in Colorado in 2016. Mitch McConnel is using this legislation as a strong attempt to not lose the current Republican U.S. Senate 53-47 majority in the November election.
Putting politics aside, as enthusiastic supporters of 1) strong legislation/action to mitigate the climate crisis, and 2) strong legislation/action in support of our U.S. National Parks, we celebrate the content of this bill and encourage its passage by the House and signature by the president. To learn what the bill includes you can search U.S. Senate S.3422 - 116th Congress. Here’s a brief outline:
- Establishes support for deferred maintenance projects on federal lands. (The NPS maintenance backlog, growing for years, is currently estimated at $11.9 billion.)
- Funded FY2021-2025 by 50% of federal revenues from oil/gas/alternative/renewable energy on federal lands/waters; not to exceed $1.9 billion for any fiscal year.
- Utilized for priority deferred maintenance projects by NPS, Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Education.
- After years of temporary LWCF funding, the bill makes funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) permanent.
Takeaways:
- White House/Senate Motivation. The endorsement of this legislation by the White House and U.S. Senate has nothing to do with bipartisanship and everything to do with Republican Senate majority preservation.
- Environmental Support. In spite of the politics, each of the environmental groups we support, particularly the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), are fully in support of this legislation.
- Good News/Bad News. If the House passes this legislation, this will be very good news for the climate and the environment. If the House does not pass this legislation, this will be bad news for all.
- Temporary vs. Permanent Funding. Only the LWCF funding is marked permanent. Experts we queried advise they interpret the balance of the bill could be rescinded by the current president were he and his Senate majority re-elected.
- Your Vote. Those of you who join us in mitigating climate change/protecting the environment have a huge opportunity this November to:
- Vote out climate change deniers/environmental degradation.
- Vote in Senators and a president to renew America’s leadership in worldwide environmental protection/climate change action.
