Great American Outdoors Act’s Passing Will Help Improve Public Lands
As the above tweets suggest, both sides of the political aisle are – in a rare moment of bipartisan unity – celebrating the passing of the Great American Outdoors Act. Here’s more from The Associated Press:
The 73-25 vote on Wednesday sends Great American Outdoors Act to the House, where approval is expected. It would be the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a century. The bill would spend about $2.8 billion per year on conservation, outdoor recreation and park maintenance. …
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., one of the bill’s chief sponsors, said the bill will create at least 100,000 jobs, while restoring national parks and repairing trails and forest systems.
Those measures are especially needed now, when communities surrounded by public lands have high unemployment rates because of shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Gardner said. “This is an economic and jobs package as much as it is a conservation package,” he said, adding that Americans who have been shut in by the pandemic ”are ready to get into the great outdoors.’’
