More than 200 outdoor and recreation companies are urging senior lawmakers to pass before breaking for the summer recess legislation that would stem a ballooning backlog of maintenance costs on public lands.
House and Senate committees have both advanced versions of the America the Beautiful Act — S.1547 and H.R. 9250 — which would reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund and help address the more than $35 billion backlog of repairs at national parks and other public lands. The fund, first created in the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020, expired last year, and its reauthorization has seen significant bipartisan backing.
Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, urged senior lawmakers to prioritize the bill in honor of the 250th birthday of the nation, citing an National Park Service study that every $1 spent on national parks returns $5 to the economy.
“Passing this legislation before Congress adjourns would send an unmistakable signal: that Congress is committed to the landscapes and waterways that have shaped our national story, and that America’s outdoor heritage will be protected and celebrated for the next 250 years,” Turner wrote.
