[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 112 (Wednesday, June 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3040-S3041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    The Great American Outdoors Act

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the passage of 
the Great American Outdoors Act. The passage of this historic 
legislation marks a once-in-a-generation step by this body to restore 
and conserve our national parks, as well as our country's national 
heritage. It builds on an American tradition of conserving our natural 
wonders and shared public spaces. It reaffirms our commitment to 
preserve them for future generations.
  It is also important to note that this is a jobs bill. According to a 
recent study, the Great American Outdoors Act will help create or 
support 100,000 jobs all over the country, including 10,000 in my home 
State of Virginia, at a time when millions of Americans are out of 
work.
  Currently, the National Park Service has a deferred maintenance 
backlog of $12 billion. A chronic lack of funding from Congress has 
forced the Park Service to defer maintenance on countless trails, 
buildings, and historic structures, as well as thousands of miles of 
roads and bridges. Today, over half of all Park Service assets are in 
desperate need of repair.
  To address these needs, a little over 3 years ago, I approached my 
colleague and friend, Senator Rob Portman, with an idea. What if we 
took unobligated Federal energy revenues and used them to address the 
maintenance backlogs at our national parks. So we came together, in a 
bipartisan partnership, and introduced the National Park Services 
Legacy Act. A little over a year later, we combined our efforts with 
Senator Alexander and Senator King to introduce our Restore Our Parks 
Act. Earlier this year, this legislation was combined with Senator 
Gardner and Senator Manchin's Land and Water Conservation Fund 
legislation to form the Great American Outdoors Act.
  This legislation represents one of the largest investments in the 
infrastructure of our national parks in its over 100-year history. Over 
the next 5 years, the Great American Outdoors Act will fund more than 
half of all the deferred repairs and completely fund the Park Service's 
highest priority needs. As my friend from Maine, Senator King, has 
noted, deferred maintenance is really simply a debt for future 
generations. With the passage of this bill today, we are one step 
closer to paying down that debt.
  Few States in the country are as impacted by the Park Service's 
deferred maintenance backlog as the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the 
Commonwealth, we have a maintenance backlog of over $1.1 billion. That 
is the third largest behind California and DC. I want to give a few 
examples of how this legislation will help preserve our historical 
heritage and create jobs in my State.
  Here in the National Capital Region, the George Washington Memorial 
Parkway, which is managed by the National Park Service, has over $700 
million in deferred maintenance. As a matter of fact, anyone in this 
Chamber who travels on that road actually knows that we had a sinkhole 
appear in the parkway within the last year--an enormous safety threat, 
as well as an enormous inconvenience to anybody who travels on this 
important road. Our legislation would help rebuild this critical 
transportation route between Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland--
reducing traffic and, again, creating jobs.
  Further south on I-95, the Richmond National Battlefield Park has 
over $5 million in deferred maintenance. The nearby Maggie L. Walker 
National Historic Site--this is the site actually of the first African-
American-owned bank created by Maggie Walker, as well as the first bank 
owned by an African-American woman. I visited it last year, and it has 
maintenance needs approaching $1 million. At the nearby Petersburg 
National Battlefield Park, the maintenance needs have grown to $9 
million over the years. This legislation will help support critical 
infrastructure needs of these parks, preserving these important pieces 
of our heritage while again supporting our local economies.
  Let me take you a little farther west, out to one of the real gems of 
our National Park Service--probably one of the parks best known in 
Virginia around the country--and that is the Shenandoah National Park. 
It is one of the crown jewels of our Park Service. Again, the 
maintenance backlog there in the Shenandoah sits at over $90 million. 
Our legislation will put people to work on these overdue repairs, 
including to Skyline Drive and stretches of the Appalachian Trail, 
which are really at the heart of Virginia's outdoor tourism industry.
  Let me take you a little farther down Skyline Drive, down farther in 
Southwest Virginia. As you head southwest, the Blue Ridge Parkway right 
here, which has accumulated over $500 million in deferred maintenance--
that is, as a matter of fact, over $1 million of deferred maintenance 
for every mile of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Great American Outdoors 
Act will, again, put Virginians to work on these repairs so visitors 
can continue to appreciate the beauty of Southwest Virginia and support 
the local economy.
  Let me end my visual tour of Virginia going to the eastern part of 
the Commonwealth. This is one final example. Colonial National 
Historical Park, which is home to historic Jamestown and the Yorktown 
battlefield--some of our country's most significant sites from the 
birth of our Nation. At this park and along the Colonial Parkway, there 
are deferred maintenance needs totaling over $430 million. With this 
legislation, the wait on many of these repairs is over. We are going to 
create jobs, make sure this important part of our history is around for 
years to come, and make sure we leave our kids and grandkids that sense 
of who we are as a nation.
  Now, before I close, I want to touch on the other half of this 
legislation, which provides full mandatory funding for the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund, the LWCF.
  For decades, the LWCF has been the most important tool of the Federal 
Government that States have had to protect critical natural areas, 
water resources, and, again, cultural heritage. Virginia has received 
over $368 million in LWCF funding, which has helped preserve and expand 
critical recreation areas within the Commonwealth.
  For example, the American Battlefield Protection Program, which is 
funded through the LWCF, has been vital for communities across 
Virginia, providing them with technical assistance and funding to help 
them preserve their history and, again, attract tourists. LWCF has also 
allowed us to expand and preserve land within the George Washington and 
Jefferson National Forests and along the Appalachian Trail. These 
efforts support the health of unique wildlife habitats and provide new 
access for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation.
  Through this combination of the parks bill and the permanent funding 
for the LWCF, the Great American Outdoors Act ensures that we will 
continue to make these important investments in conservation in our 
parks for years to come.
  In closing, I thank my colleagues, again, for supporting this 
historic legislation with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote and a piece 
of legislation

[[Page S3041]]

that is supported by the administration. My hope is that the House will 
move quickly on this. What better present to our Nation than to have 
this legislation signed into law, hopefully, by July 4.
  As we all know, at a time of significant division in our country, the 
fact that this body was able to come together and pass this bill with 
over 70 votes gives me a little bit of hope. Again, I am proud of my 
colleagues for stepping up to restore our national parks and public 
lands, and as I mentioned at the outset, this legislation will create 
over 100,000 jobs, jobs that are extraordinarily needed at this 
critical moment when our economy has been shattered. So for current 
Americans and future Americans, job well done.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.