PUBLIC LANDS
Conservation jobs program on the table in pandemic talks
Advocates say they see a rare and unexpected opening to pass legislation that would help revitalize and refashion a Depression-era conservation jobs program for the 21st century.
Emma Dumain covers Congress for E&E News. A Capitol Hill reporter since 2010, she was most recently a congressional correspondent for McClatchy and, before that, she covered South Carolina politics and the state's congressional delegation for The (Columbia) State newspaper and the Charleston Post and Courier. Emma got her start in journalism at Roll Call and Congressional Quarterly and is a graduate of Oberlin College.
Advocates say they see a rare and unexpected opening to pass legislation that would help revitalize and refashion a Depression-era conservation jobs program for the 21st century.
Ahead of one of the most consequential elections in decades, first-term House Democrats are waging a more subtle campaign that could make them major players in the future on energy and environmental legislation — securing a coveted seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law today, flanked by Republican lawmakers and administration officials. The bill permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund and creates a five-year trust fund to chip away at the backlog of deferred maintenance projects at national parks and on public lands.
Rep. Paul Gosar wants the Interior Department to hand over more information about whether his colleague on the House Natural Resources Committee tried to flout government ethics rules — and whether he succeeded.
President Trump will sign the "Great American Outdoors Act" into law tomorrow — the culmination of decades of work and months of political maneuvering.