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[Pages S2773-S2774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on an entirely different matter,
yesterday our colleagues voted overwhelmingly to advance the Great
American Outdoors Act. Thanks to the guiding leadership of colleagues
like Senators Daines and Gardner, we have a rare opportunity to take a
huge step forward with some of our Nation's most cherished treasures.
Every year, America's national parks, forests, wildlife refuges,
battlefields, and public lands draw hundreds of millions of visits from
across the country and around the world--hunters and anglers,
backpackers and climbers, bird watchers and road trippers, school
groups and scientists. Across hundreds of millions of acres, there is
room for recreation and conservation alike.
Where our Nation makes its natural wonders possible, local
communities thrive. According to the National Park Service, park
visitors contribute to more than $40 billion in economic output in
adjacent towns. From local hotels and restaurants to the outdoor
recreation industry itself, they supported nearly 330,000 jobs.
So it would be difficult to overstate the importance of our public
lands in the lives of the American people. When the Senate passes
legislation to secure permanent funding for keeping them safe and
accessible, we will be ushering in a bright future for American
recreation and conservation.
At the same time--and just as importantly--we will be addressing the
areas where decades of funding levels for routine maintenance have not
kept pace, leaving some of our parks and public lands inaccessible and
potentially unsafe.
This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where all of our
love for the great American outdoors needs to be backed up with some
sober accounting.
In Senator Gardner's backyard, in the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky
Mountain region, last year's totals put the costs of backlog
maintenance projects at nearly half a billion dollars. From upkeep of
roads, bridges, and dams to updates of wastewater and drinking water
systems, we are talking about projects with real consequences for
recreation, conservation, and local economies.
In Kentucky, we know all too well what happens when urgent
maintenance is neglected. At Mammoth Cave National Park, for example,
untreated sewer leaks in past years have restricted access to portions
of the largest cave system in the world and even threatened some of its
native species.
Today, more than $90 million in maintenance is still outstanding at
that particular park. We are still waiting on funding to rehabilitate
cave trails that haven't seen major investment since the 1930s.
At the Forest Service's London district office, Kentucky rangers are
still waiting for funding for critical security and accessibility
updates.
Like any prized asset, public lands need regular maintenance. We
shouldn't let key infrastructure languish for decades and then fight
uphill to make up for lost time.
This is a familiar problem that is felt in different ways in every
corner of our Nation, so the solution will need to be just as sweeping.
Fortunately, as last night's lopsided vote demonstrates, our colleagues
have assembled a deeply bipartisan set of solutions that our country
deserves.
I am proud the work led by our colleagues from Montana and Colorado
have received the endorsement of hundreds of national and local
advocates for American recreation and conservation. I urge all Senators
to join the experts and support the bill.
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