Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop and Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva announced and passed a deal on the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), offered and adopted in Committee as an amendment to H.R. 502. The Committee also passed H.R. 6771, the Domestic Offshore Energy Reinvestment Act of 2018, authored by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.).

“Creating outdoor opportunities for people was the reason Congress created the LWCF.  My reservations about the program have never been about the goals of LWCF, rather I’ve been frustrated that the implementation of the program fell short of the law’s intended purpose. Despite the statute’s successes and recognition of the benefit of using public land development to fund recreation and conservation investments, reform is needed to ensure LWCF benefits local priorities to the fullest extent possible. This bill, along with additional action we took today, ensures that Congress adequately funds the lands it already owns and realigns the Fund back to its original goal of ensuring that hunters, fishermen, and families have access to recreational activities. I thank Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva for his work to find common ground, and look forward to engagement with all stakeholders and the Senate on a final agreement.” – Chairman Rob Bishop  

“This is a taste of what’s possible when people work together in good faith. Days like these are far too rare in Congress, and if we keep this up we might just restore public trust in Congress’ ability to get things done. Thanks to a lot of hard work on both sides, the days of LWCF being a political football could end very soon and our national parks can start getting the maintenance funding they sorely need. I’d like to thank Chairman Bishop for the chance to work together on this. I hope we get to do it again.” – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.)

H.R. 502 permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

H.R. 6771, the Domestic Offshore Energy Reinvestment Act of 2018, amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.

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