Press Releases
Pingree Votes to Address Acadia National Park’s Maintenance Backlog, Make Historic Investment in Nation’s Public Lands
Washington,
July 23, 2020
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined her House colleagues in enacting the Great American Outdoors Act, legislation to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and preserve the national parks system and public lands across the nation. This landmark bipartisan conservation bill passed the US House 310-107. The bill passed the US Senate on June 17. “For too long our nation’s public lands have been severely underfunded. The Great American Outdoors Act is among the most important conservation bills to pass Congress in years. This landmark legislation will finally begin to address the $65 million maintenance backlog in Maine’s beloved Acadia National Park,” said Rep. Pingree. “With Americans seeking to breathe in fresh air and get outside during this pandemic, President Trump should waste no time signing this bipartisan bill to ensure we all can enjoy the beauty of our public lands.” The Great American Outdoors Act would provide funds to address the $12 billion maintenance backlog in the national parks system. The bill also includes $900 million in permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a bipartisan program which safeguards public lands, beaches, and parks through grants. If signed into law, the Great American Outdoors Act would mean that the LWCF would no longer be subject to the annual federal appropriations process. Pingree is the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment, where she has long-advocated for greater investment in our public lands and conservation programs, including LWCF.
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