Disability advocates told a House Natural Resources subcommittee Wednesday that proposed cuts to funding and staffing for public lands are hampering accessibility projects on federal tracts.
The Federal Lands Subcommittee hearing was intended to examine accessibility on trails, in national parks and in forests that’s mandated in the EXPLORE Act, a sweeping bipartisan public lands package that President Donald Trump signed into law last year.
But advocates for people with disabilities turned the hearing into a referendum on the administration’s proposed spending and staffing cuts that they say would undermine the law’s success.
“The single greatest barrier, in my opinion, right now is not policy — it’s capacity,” said Mike Passo, executive director of American Trails and a wheelchair user. “Across federal land management agencies, we are seeing substantial reductions in workforce capacity. These issues are not abstract. They are directly affecting the ability to carry out projects, maintain trails and support partnerships that make access possible.”
