[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Ms. Ernst):
  S. 1967. A bill to promote innovative approaches to outdoor 
recreation on Federal land and to increase opportunities for 
collaboration with non-Federal partners, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am joined by my colleagues Senator 
Joni Ernst, Congressman Rob Bishop, and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell to 
introduce the bipartisan Recreation Not Red Tape (RNR) Act. In Oregon 
and nationwide, the outdoor recreation economy is growing. Nationally, 
outdoor recreation generates $887 billion in annual consumer spending 
and 7.6 million American jobs. As those numbers keep rising, 
communities across the country are benefiting from growing American 
interest in enjoying the great outdoors. Our bill will help grow the 
economic potential of the outdoor recreation economy by opening access, 
reducing red tape, and updating Federal recreation guidelines.
  Unfortunately, getting outside often requires permits, parking passes 
and camping fees that are important to maintaining public lands, but 
too often involve confusing, complicated and lengthy processes to 
obtain. This bill removes barriers to outdoor recreation, making it 
easier for visitors from near and far to get outdoors and enjoy 
America's treasures. By streamlining paths for more people to get 
outdoors, the Recreation Not Red Tape Act will encourage outdoor 
recreation opportunities, giving communities an economic boost.
  The RNR Act includes provisions from Senator Heinrich's Simplifying 
Outdoor Access for Recreation Act. The bill improves the Federal 
outdoor recreation permitting process by eliminating duplicative and 
bureaucratic reviews, requiring time limits for processing permit 
applications, reducing fees, and simplifying multi-jurisdictional 
trips. The bill also ensures recreation permits are available for 
online purchases.
  The RNR Act encourages all military branches to include information 
about outdoor recreation opportunities as part of the basic services 
provided to service members and veterans, and encourages all military 
branches to allow active-duty service members to engage in outdoor 
recreation or environmental stewardship activities without taking away 
their hard-earned leave.
  For the first time, the RNR Act directs Federal land management 
agencies to enhance recreation opportunities when making land and water 
management decisions. The RNR Act ensures Federal land managers have 
and maintain recreation access goals. Importantly, the RNR Act 
highlights the recreational values of public lands across the county 
and encourages more National Recreation Area designations in the future 
by creating a system of National Recreation Areas to manage recreation 
lands in uniform guidelines.
  Additionally, the RNR Act encourages volunteer opportunities to help 
agencies carry out public lands maintenance projects, such as trail 
maintenance on Federal lands. The bill establishes a pilot program to 
create uniform interagency trail management standards for trails that 
cross agency jurisdictional boundaries.
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