[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 110 (Monday, June 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S2960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, just this week, on the floor, we will 
complete a major piece of legislation that will benefit generations to 
come. Thanks to a number of our colleagues--particularly the junior 
Senators from Colorado and Montana--the Senate is poised to take 
historic action for the future of the Nation's public lands.
  I haven't been the only one coming to the floor to highlight how my 
constituents prize our State's national parks, wildlife refuge, and 
other managed areas--for recreation and for many livelihoods. We 
Kentuckians are proud that our Commonwealth is home to one of the 
National Park Service's crowning jewels at Mammoth Cave. We are proud 
of our historic sites like Mill Springs Battlefield and our wildlife 
refuges at the Clarks and Green Rivers. And I am proud that the Senate 
this week will provide permanent, steady support to maintain these 
treasures for generations to come.
  As we have heard, the same is true for Colorado, where entire 
regional economies are driven by outdoor recreation in alpine 
wonderlands; for Montana, where Federal and State management work hand 
in hand with local sportsmen and Native American Tribes to preserve 
millions of acres of pristine, Big Sky wilderness; for West Virginia, 
where 54 of 55 counties have benefited from the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund investment; and for Ohio, where the Cuyahoga Valley 
puts parkland in the backyards of millions of people. The list goes on 
and on.
  Public lands hold a unique place in the life of every State in 
America--from their natural beauty, to their use for recreation, to 
their pivotal roles in local economies. In the communities just outside 
of the gates, public lands drive over $40 billion in economic activity 
every year, and they play a big part in the entire outdoor recreation 
industry that creates hundreds of billions of dollars in national 
prosperity every year
  Once again, I am grateful to our colleagues who have stewarded the 
Great American Outdoors Act thus far; to Senator Gardner and Senator 
Daines for their leadership; and to Senators Alexander, Portman, 
Manchin, and Warner for their efforts as well to steer this strong, 
bipartisan product toward the finish line. I look forward to continuing 
to advance this legislation today and passing it this week.

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