[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1915
                    PUBLIC LAND ACCESS BY THE GO ACT

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, the current process to obtain outfitter and 
guide permits for hiking, hunting, and fishing exhibitions on our 
public lands for recreation events is too expensive and very 
complicated. Guides and outfitters should not have to navigate 
arbitrary rules, inconsistent practices, and unresponsive Federal 
agencies.
  As a result, I have introduced the Guides and Outfitters Act, known 
as the GO Act, H.R. 5129, which will renew the authorization for these 
recreation permits while eliminating burdensome red tape.
  This measure will also cap permit fees, ensure that fees are charged 
only for activities on the actual public lands, not on private lands, 
provides categorical exclusions for previously studied uses to reduce 
delays, and allows online applications.
  The GO Act is consistent with my commitment to increasing public 
access to the public lands, making Federal agencies more responsive to 
the communities in which they operate and removing unnecessary 
bureaucratic red tape that keeps people off of their lands.

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