[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 9, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2773-S2774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on an entirely different matter, 
yesterday our colleagues voted overwhelmingly to advance the Great 
American Outdoors Act. Thanks to the guiding leadership of colleagues 
like Senators Daines and Gardner, we have a rare opportunity to take a 
huge step forward with some of our Nation's most cherished treasures.
  Every year, America's national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, 
battlefields, and public lands draw hundreds of millions of visits from 
across the country and around the world--hunters and anglers, 
backpackers and climbers, bird watchers and road trippers, school 
groups and scientists. Across hundreds of millions of acres, there is 
room for recreation and conservation alike.
  Where our Nation makes its natural wonders possible, local 
communities thrive. According to the National Park Service, park 
visitors contribute to more than $40 billion in economic output in 
adjacent towns. From local hotels and restaurants to the outdoor 
recreation industry itself, they supported nearly 330,000 jobs.
  So it would be difficult to overstate the importance of our public 
lands in the lives of the American people. When the Senate passes 
legislation to secure permanent funding for keeping them safe and 
accessible, we will be ushering in a bright future for American 
recreation and conservation.
  At the same time--and just as importantly--we will be addressing the 
areas where decades of funding levels for routine maintenance have not 
kept pace, leaving some of our parks and public lands inaccessible and 
potentially unsafe.
  This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where all of our 
love for the great American outdoors needs to be backed up with some 
sober accounting.
  In Senator Gardner's backyard, in the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky 
Mountain region, last year's totals put the costs of backlog 
maintenance projects at nearly half a billion dollars. From upkeep of 
roads, bridges, and dams to updates of wastewater and drinking water 
systems, we are talking about projects with real consequences for 
recreation, conservation, and local economies.
  In Kentucky, we know all too well what happens when urgent 
maintenance is neglected. At Mammoth Cave National Park, for example, 
untreated sewer leaks in past years have restricted access to portions 
of the largest cave system in the world and even threatened some of its 
native species.
  Today, more than $90 million in maintenance is still outstanding at 
that particular park. We are still waiting on funding to rehabilitate 
cave trails that haven't seen major investment since the 1930s.
  At the Forest Service's London district office, Kentucky rangers are 
still waiting for funding for critical security and accessibility 
updates.
  Like any prized asset, public lands need regular maintenance. We 
shouldn't let key infrastructure languish for decades and then fight 
uphill to make up for lost time.
  This is a familiar problem that is felt in different ways in every 
corner of our Nation, so the solution will need to be just as sweeping. 
Fortunately, as last night's lopsided vote demonstrates, our colleagues 
have assembled a deeply bipartisan set of solutions that our country 
deserves.
  I am proud the work led by our colleagues from Montana and Colorado 
have received the endorsement of hundreds of national and local 
advocates for American recreation and conservation. I urge all Senators 
to join the experts and support the bill.

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