On Thursday April 30, Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Angus King (I-ME) unveiled bipartisan legislation, the America the Beautiful Act, which would reauthorize and expand the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. This measure would increase the legacy restoration fund created in the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, from $1.9 billion to $2 billion annually, and extend it until 2033. The fund aims to reduce the government’s deferred maintenance backlog, now estimated at more than $40 billion, to fix everything from roads to employee housing, on federal lands.
The Act would also require agencies to compile a two-year running list of projects and allow them to move forward with the following year’s project under a continuing resolution. Additionally, the legislation ensures all US Fish and Wildlife Service land is eligible for legacy restoration funds.
The bill comes as Congress debates the possible sale of some federal lands under the GOP’s budget reconciliation plan. While the measure has bipartisan backing, it may face resistance from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-UT), who opposed the original Great American Outdoors Act in 2020. The legacy restoration fund is currently set to expire in September 2025.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Staci Heaton.