Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Richard Burr (R-NC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Steve Daines (R-MT) today introduced an amendment to permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). LWCF expires on September 30th if Congress does not act. This amendment is part of a broader effort to make LWCF permanent with full dedicated funding. The amendment was introduced to the Agriculture, Financial Services and General Government, Interior-Environment, and Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill.
Bennet introduced a bill with Burr last year to permanently authorize the LWCF, which this amendment is modeled after. He is also a cosponsor of the Cantwell-Burr bill to permanently authorize and fully fund the LWCF.
“With LWCF’s expiration date looming in September, we need to pass this amendment to maintain this critical conservation tool for future generations,” Bennet said. “Congress should also provide LWCF the full dedicated funding it deserves.”
“Congress needs to take immediate action to permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and I’m glad to have a group of bipartisan senators working closely together to find a solution,” Gardner said. “Colorado’s beautiful public lands rely on this conservation program, and our amendment will make sure that these vital conservation resources remain available.”
“I’m proud to join Senator Gardner on his amendment to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and applaud him for his work on this issue,” Burr said. “I have long been a proponent of the LWCF, which has proven itself to be our country’s most successful conservation program. Over the last 50 years, this program has contributed to more than 42,000 recreation projects across the country and helped preserve access to America’s great national parks for hunters, hikers, fishers and families. Most importantly, the LWCF does all of this at no additional cost to taxpayers. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be good stewards of the amazing natural beauty and resources that we inherited, so they can enjoy them for generations to come. I urge our colleagues to bring this amendment up for a vote so we can reauthorize this popular, bipartisan program before its expiration on September 30.”
“The Land and Water Conservation Fund has led to the protection of more than 2.5 million acres of land and supported tens of thousands of state and local outdoor recreation projects throughout the nation, including right here in the Granite State,” Shaheen said. “Permanent authorization of LWCF will build on the program’s important work in our communities that has helped strengthen our nation’s outdoor recreational economy, and safeguard our wildlife, natural resources and environment. I’m glad to see the bipartisan support on this effort and will continue to fight for this critical program.”
“LWCF is critical to Montana jobs and our outdoor way of life,” Daines said. “Our children and grandchildren are counting on us to preserve America’s outdoor heritage. I will fight at every opportunity for its permanent reauthorization.”