H.R. 1957, the Great American Outdoors Act, permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually. The LWCF was created in 1964 to purchase and develop land for “recreational” uses. The bill also creates the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (NPPLLRF), which is funded at $1.9 billion annually for five years. This funding comes from oil, gas, and other energy royalties on federal property, and the NPPLLRF allocates this funding to maintenance in national parks and other federal lands.
The Senate passed H.R. 1957 on June 17, 2020 by a vote of 73 to 25 (Roll Call 121). We have assigned pluses to the nays not only because this bill irresponsibly increases the federal deficit and diverts energy royalties from being spent for needed constitutional purposes, but also because the Constitution does not authorize Congress to purchase private property except “for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings.” Moreover, the federal government already owns a huge percentage of land directly — about 28 percent of the nation — and is a demonstrably poor steward of public lands.
