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Run toward justice, and hands that serve your purposes. Empower them to be faithful to you and their calling to do your will on earth, inspiring them with your presence to live above reproach deliver them from the pride that leads to shame, providing them with the humility that comes with wisdom. And lord, keep us all on the right side of history. We pray in your great name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington, d. C. , june 12, 2020. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable steve daines, a senator from the state of montana, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h. R. 1957, which the clerk will report. The clerk calendar number 75, h. R. 1957, an act to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986, and so forth and for other purposes. A senator madam president. The presiding officer the senator from colorado is recognized. Mr. Gardner thank you, madam president. Thank you for your willingness to preside over the chamber at this late hour at least in the nations capital. Midnight here. 10 00 back in the great states of colorado and montana. My colleague and one of the leading sponsors of this legislation has been doing a lot of work this past week on the Great American outdoors act to make sure that we can get this across the finish line. The truly bipartisan spirit of this bill has been remarkable. I think thats kind of what i wanted to start off with my comments tonight, is really the coasttocoast nature of this legislation, the Great American outdoors act, because so many people have put in not just a couple weeks of work or a couple months of work or a couple years of work, but decades of work on the legislation that we have before us. The Great American outdoors act, of course, combines two pieces of legislation, the crown jewel of our conservation programs across the nation, the land and Water Conservation fund, and the restore our parks act. The restore our parks act focuses on catching up with the maintenance backlog in our National Park systems. About 70 of the funding, 1. 9 billion a year roughly will go toward our National Parks. Additional dollars will go toward the bureau of Land Management. The bureau of Land Management now headquartered in the great state of colorado. A portion will go to the u. S. Forest service. A portion will go to the u. S. Fish and wildlife service. A portion will go to the bureau of Indian Education. The land and Water Conservation fund, of course, goes toward the efforts to protect some of the greatest spaces in our nation. I wanted to thank the people who have been working on this, and we have more work to do, to be clear. Senator manchin, senator heinrich, senator cantwell, senator king, senator warner, senator portman and alexander, senator danes, all have been working very, very diligently to make sure that we can pass this. Im sure i have missed a few people as we have talked about them tonight. And we will be talking about this work with our colleagues over the next several days. The land and Water Conservation fund has benefited every state in the country. There are a few things that have been said on the floor today that i thought i would clear up and address because they need to be. Im going to show a chart here that talks about the states that have received benefit from or will receive benefit under the Great American outdoors act and the states that do not benefit from the Great American outdoors act. So the states that do not benefit from the Great American outdoors act are highlighted in orange, and the states that benefit from the Great American outdoors act are highlighted in green. Now, as you can see from this map, there are no orange states. This is an entire country, alaska, hawaii, 48 states that have benefited from the land and Water Conservation fund, who will benefit from the restore our parks act. All 50 states across the country have already benefited from these programs. In fact, i would ask unanimous consent that a letter written march 9 of 2020 from the land and Water Conservation fund and the coalition of countless organizations be submitted for the record in support of this legislation. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner the march 9 letter begins the land and Water Conservation fund has been our nations most successful conservation and Recreation Program for 55 years. Now permanently reauthorized by congress after a nationwide advocacy effort. That was a bill that came forward in the john b. Dingell conservation bill, a Public Lands Bill we passed last congress. It passed this chamber 928, another extremely bipartisan provision. You know, the land and Water Conservation fund isnt just about the coast. Its not just about the interior. Its about all of our states. Half the money goes to the east, half the money goes to the west. It is distributed across the nation. Its not a federal land grab. I think its important that some people want to talk about this being a federal land grab. 99 of the funding from the land and Water Conservation fund actually goes to inholdings within existing public lands, meaning if you have a place like Rocky Mountain National Park in colorado and there is had a little bit of land out in the middle of that, land and Water Conservation fund, 99 of the funds from that have been used to purchase those inholdings. You have a significant portion of the land and Water Conservation fund that is not managed by the federal government at all. Its actually handled by the states. Its an important thing. Baseball fields, soccer fields, and other programs the states can manage. A huge chunk of funding from the land and Water Conservation fund actually goes back out to the states and out of the hands of the federal government. If you go to another letter that we have talked about before, the six previous secretaries of interior sending a letter june june 3, 2020, talking about the privilege and responsibility of stewarding some of americas most scenic landscapes. Incredible landscapes and natural and cultural treasures. And it talked about how theyre all cognizant of the Critical Role that our public lands play in our lives as places to recreate, recharge, and seek solace in the midst of great uncertainty and also to create jobs. This was signed by republican and democrat secretaries of the interior, most recently secretary zinke and secretary jewel, secretary ken salazar from colorado, secretary bruce babbitt, another westerner from arizona under president clinton. This talks about the importance of the Great American outdoors act and how it will help ensure a better, Brighter Future for nature and for all of us. And speaking of sort of bright futures, some people have said on the floor that this legislation was crafted in secret. What could be further from the truth . The land and Water Conservation fund has been around since 1965, 1964 in this chamber. It was approved by the Committee Just a couple months ago. The restore our parks act cleared the energy and Natural Resources Committee Just a couple of months ago. It was debated. There were amendments offered. They failed. We combined these two pieces that came out of committee, and we put them into the Great American outdoors act, and thats what we are being asked to vote on tonight. Of course, the secretarys letter talks about the dollars that will be going to our communities, the opportunities for more conservation. We talked about the letter here from the coalition. Lets just talk about the jobs, too, though. Its important as we start voting tonight that we recognize that this is a jobs bill and an Economic Opportunity for our country. Its estimated that the Great American outdoors act will create nearly 100 over 100,000 jobs across the country. As we get our feet underneath us again, as we get back on our feet from the health pandemic, covid19 emergency, we have a chance to create new jobs and new opportunities. Remember where these jobs are going to be created. They will be created around the country. The land and Water Conservation fund is in nearly every county across the nation. For every 1 million we spend on the land and Water Conservation fund, we support between 16 and 30 jobs. So the National Parks supporting over 100,000 jobs through the Great American outdoors act, the land and Water Conservation fund, every million dollars, between 16 and 30 jobs. Those communities that have been impacted because of job loss. Maybe their tourism season ended earlier, maybe it started late, maybe a combination of both as we faced in colorado, those communities that have 20 , 22 , 23 unemployment are going to be able to gain significantly economically across the country, thanks to this legislation. We also have a letter here from the american the archery trade association, the association of fish and wildlife agents, boon and crockett club, the catch a dream foundation, you name it, congressional sportsmans foundation. A march 11, 2020 letter in support of the Great American outdoors act. And i would ask that this be entered into the record unanimous consent this be entered into the record to show support for this legislation. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner the jobs aspect of the Great American outdoors act of course is recognized by the u. S. Chamber of commerce. On june 4, 2020, they sent a letter to members of the United States senate. The u. S. Chamber of commerce strongly supports the Great American outdoors act and the important bipartisan bill that would provide funding certainty for the land and Water Conservation fund and address the pressing maintenance and construction backlog on public lands. It addresses long overdue Infrastructure Modernization challenges, interNational Park system, and other federal and agricultural lands. It would also permanently authorize the lwcf, providing an important tool for Smart Development of open spaces in communities across the nation. Enactment of this bill would also provide muchneeded funding to support and sustain bureau of Indian Education schools. By setting aside 5 of the funds created in this act, as much as 475 million can flow to bureau of Indian Education schools over the next five years. A. P. I. , American Petroleum institute, writes in support of the Great American outdoors act. They start with practical safe and responsible offshore Energy Development doesnt just create jobs and power our lives. It also funds americas largest federal conservation program. Senators will soon vote on the Great American outdoors act, and they hope that we would support this legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the letter from a. P. I. And both the chamber of commerce be entered into the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner furthermore, to highlight the economic importance of this legislation, the Outdoor Recreation industry. These have some of the most notable names in Outdoor Recreation i think everybody would recognize from polaris, bass pro, cabelas, northface, pat goan yeah. They are all on here in support of the Great American outdoors act. The Outdoor Recreation industry is extremely encouraged by recent announcements that the Senate Public lands to hold a vote on the Great American outdoors act. As Outdoor Recreation business leaders, we know investments in recreation, access and infrastructure are vital to the recreation industry and economies across the country. I ask unanimous consent that this letter be entered into the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner rei, a place that secretary jewell knows very well, the coop rights in support of the Great American outdoors act talking about the impressive process that this bill came together with, the bipartisan nature of this legislation. My colleague, senator heinrich, from new mexico, is on the floor. I cant thank him enough for the work that we have done together and for making sure that we can get to these votes, as we approach the very late hours in washington. I ask unanimous consent that the rei letter be entered into the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner so this is about National Treasures, the Great American outdoors act. Its about National Treasures. Its about protecting these incredible places that are owned by all of us, not just the people of colorado or new mexico or the great state of georgia. Owned by all of us. Its about some of the most scenic and majestic landscapes, unique ecosystems that they have created. But its also about a National Treasure in the American People. That National Treasure that has been hit pretty hard over the last several months pandemics, conflict in our society and racial injustice. And its this National Treasure, the American People, that this legislation is focused on. A National Treasure that will help create jobs and opportunity, empower peoples lives, get their communities back on track, and maybe, just maybe, provide a little bit of respite to somebody who is seeking that opportunity to get outside, to get away, to find time to think. As inis mills said, to making them maybe a little bit more reflective and kind during difficult times. Weve got a long ways to go in this legislation, still. Well have more debates later tonight. Well have a vote later tonight, and i hope my completion will join my colleagues will join me in support of this legislation. It is bipartisan in nature. It has the significant support of the American People. It benefits our country from sea to shining sea. And were going to have some votes next week on monday as well, perhaps tuesday, maybe even more. But one thing this bill is not is a surprise. This bill is a collection of debates and arguments and passion and advocacy for decades. I think the argument has been, one, we want to protect our countrys most treasured places. So now we just have to win the debate, and making sure we can do that with the votes tonight. I encourage my colleagues to vote yes tonight and through the remaining votes we have, either today or next week to move on to passage of this legislation. And the good it can do. So i thank the president , and i thank my colleagues, and i would yield the floor. Mr. Heinrich madam president . The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Heinrich madam president , i rise today with my colleagues from colorado and montana to talk about the incredible coalition that has come together to support the Great American outdoors act and why weve been able to build a group of folks ranging far beyond this body who have come together from very disparate parts of the political spectrum, very disparate parts of our incredible geographic country to support this piece of legislation. And i think part of the what has made this legislation so timely is what weve all been through in the last three months. Many of us were couped up in your homes for weeks at a time, and it really drove home for all of us how incredible bring important the time we get to spend outside is. And i know some of my colleagues, particularly from the west, have been very articulate about that. I had a chance to travel around my state at a time when we were still many people were cooped up in their homes, and our state governor was very thoughtful about the rules to make sure that even as people sought to socially distance themselves for weeks at a time that they were able to get access to their local parks. Able to get access to open space, able to get access to our National Forests and b. L. M. Lands, anyplace basically where people could come together without coming together. And theres no place like the Great Outdoors to do that. So i was just ask my colleagues i start with my colleague from colorado, if he would care to share some stories about the importance that we all learned about what we already had and in many cases have because of the land and Water Conservation fund in our own yards and how important that was in the course of the greatest ill in the greatest pandemic of our generations time. And i would yield my time to the gentleman from colorado. Mr. Gardner again i thank the senator from new mexico for his work on this. You know, we adjusted to the zoom conference meetings and to the scapes and the face type and to the skypes and the facetimes. For many, many millions of americans, they were still at work each and every day you at the gas say, the grocery store, the folks and the people shocking shelves, providing restaurants providing restaurant work across the country. And, you know,theres a lot of tense and stress for this country. You can still feel the strain on the American People. That one sort of relief value of that we have as valve that we have as a country is our systems of parks and recreation opportunities. And you know its about jobs, its about the dollars they spend in communities, the gateway communities when they go to a place like Rocky Mountain National Park, but its also about that opportunity for people to get away and to find that time to think, that time to be themselves, to focus, to get into an area where they can exercise, recreate, and enjoy the environment and the resources around them. And so, you know, i make a joke i dont know if anybody else laughs at it i talk about the last several months being spent in the great indoors. Its time for the Great Outdoors. And so i think thats what weve talked about. As a kid growing up, we had these road trips. It was always you know, we didnt fly, very often at least, and it was expensive and you would drive and drive great distances, drive to the grand canyon National Park if you could or certainly drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park with the family, maybe the Great American road trip is going to come back as people adjust to what we have to do to protect ourselves from the pandemic, as economic concerns grow in this country. This provides an opportunity for all of that. Mr. Heinrich if id yield for just a moment, my colleague from montana, i notice that a very similar dynamic emerges from montana, as it was from new mexico, of being very thoughtful aboutresponse to the virus but also making sure that the people could get out and just get that time for their physical wellbeing, their mental wellbeing, even in the height of the pandemic and during that responsibly. And i think it certainly impressed on everyone i talked to just how important these places have always been. Maybe sometimes we took them for granted, but i think the last three months have helped with us not take the Great American outdoors for granted. Mr. Danes well, i think thats exactly right, senator heinrich. Mr. Daines its one of the unique moments in the United States senate where this body is coming together. Here we are, as senator heinrich mentioned, as senator gardner has mentioned. We may disagree on various issues, but we are coming together tonight at a time when the nation needs to come together to move this very important legislation forward. In montana, we had cabin fever, as i know im sure folks in new mexico and colorado as well. Too much time on zoom, not enough time outside. And its been good to see as we have been going through a phased opening in our state, like other states, people are getting back outside again, back into our National Parks. And i think about as a kid growing up in montana, my earliest memories were literally when mom and dad would load us up in a pickup and those were the days when you would lay down in the back of the pickup. The kids rode in the back of a pickup. Nobody was strapped im not suggesting this become the normal practice. Im saying back in the day we just rode in the back of the pickup. Mom and dad would take us down. We would go up to cook city, montana. Sometimes we would be doing day hikes out of there. Sometimes they were overnights on our public lands. And you dont realize how special that is when youre growing up until you realize not everybody, not everybody around the country has that kind of direct accessibility to our public lands, and its why more and more americans are are actually coming out west, why they want to be closer to these amazing public lands that were so grateful that we have in places like new mexico, like colorado, like montana. In fact, we say in montana that we get to work where we also like to play. We work hard during the week. I think we work hard so we can get out on the weekends, whether its hiking, fishing, hunting, backpacking. This is our life. These are pictures that i have taken with my phone, the picture right here. We have three minnie australian shepherds. These are two of them. Our older dog jessie has a hard time getting up and down the trails of the mountains now, but the younger ones still can. You think about some of our fondest memories are spending time outside on our public lands. Its why we need to continue to preserve, protect, and expand that access to this incredible treasure that we have in america. Mr. Heinrich i really think our public lands are one of americas greatest democratic accomplishments. When you think about the fact how we became a nation, and you look at the history in europe, and people were locked out of the great lands of europe. You look at all of the feudal history that europe had, and wildlife and public lands, they didnt lands and wildlife belonged to the king, they belonged to the crown. And if you were caught hunting on those lands, you could be put to death. You didnt have access to those lands later in european history until unless you could pay for them. And so our forefathers were very thoughtful about not wanting that to be the same approach in the United States of america, making sure that our wildlife was held in trust for all of us, and that these lands would be held in trust for all of us, and the land and Water Conservation fund, one of the greatest things about it from my perspective is that it really increased access to the National Forests and parks and other places that had already been created, and i would be curious if my colleagues have stories about particular places that didnt have public access, that maybe somebody, you know, just working in the small town, an incredible Mountain Range or a place you could hunt or fish or camp that was offlimits, and because of the land and Water Conservation fund, an easement or trail or some other means of access was provided, so that opened up to the working class families of our constituencies. We certainly have those stories in new mexico, and i would ask my colleagues if they have some particular places in colorado or montana where that has been the case because of this incredibly important fund. Mr. Daines senator heinrich, the land and Water Conservation fund has been such an important tool for us to provide access to the type of situation you just described. We have about 1. 5 million acres of federal lands in montana that are not accessible. They are land locked. They are landlocked. They are inholdings sometimes. Because of the complex nature of the checkerboard infrastructure that we sometimes see out west, a section, 640 acres, a square mile. You have the state section, you have a federal section, and you have a private landowner. This is working with willing landowners that want to work to find a way to to consolidate some of these sections to provide better access to the public lands. We have had some Great Projects like the tenderfoot project over by the smith river, which is a treasure in montana. Its on the montana bucket list to float the smith. Its an amazing several overnights from one point to the next, an over 50mile type of float. I did that once and id love to do it again. We had the falls creek acquisition thats outside of augusta. By being able to provide access through a few Hundred Acres or a couple thousand acres, it gets the public into tens of thousands of acres of some prime elk habitat. And this is where we bring together some of these great wildlife conservations, like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation that sees these tools as critical, one, to help to protect and expand elk habitat, but importantly, montana is still one of those states where a mom or a dad, grandma or grandpa, aunt or uncle can take a son or a daughter, a niece or a nephew, a cousin, down to walmart and buy an elk tag or a deer tag over the counter and be able to jump back in the pickup and be to our public lands within an hour, sometimes an even shorter time than that. And thats something, as you mentioned, senator heinrich, that mr. Heinrich is there a guide . You dont have to spend 10,000 on a private land tag . You can just buy an elk tag over the counter and go out and pursue elk on your planned. Mr. Daines it is, and thats something that and every state has its own philosophy and ways they are going to manage wildlife, but in montana, in many cases, its an over the counter tag. We have some special draws. Antelope is still a draw. There are some places for elk and deer to draw. But in most cases for elk and buccaneer, for a bear, you can go and buy that ticket buy that tag over the counter. And thats very unique. As you mentioned, senator heinrich, its so different than europe. What sets our country apart while europe may have beautiful castles and chateaus and chefs and so forth, what we have are National Parks and our public lands. As you mentioned, its something that our forefathers had the vision. They went before us and set that aside because had they not done that, you never get that back. Had that not been put in the hands of the public, we wouldnt have yellowstone National Park, glacier National Park. They are such beautiful places. They would have been sup divide. They would have been privately held and the public couldnt enjoy these treasures. Im grateful for that legacy we get to work on here tonight to continue to maintain it well, be better stewards of these public lands. Mr. Heinrich you mentioned yellowstone. We have a place in northern new mexico that many people refer to as new mexicos yellowstone because like yellowstone, its a very high he willvation caldera. Its a place where there was a super volcano and that super volcano collapsed in on itself. When it did that, it created what we call a reverse tree line. A series of very highelevation meadows connected to each other with a ring of mountains around them and a huge herd of elk and hot springs and wild trout. That place is called the Valle Caldera National Preserve today. It was actually first proposed as part of a National Park. I think in about 1916, if you can believe that. And almost to the month 100 years later, we were able to make this a National Preserve, which is like a National Park Service Property that also allows for hunting and fishing. And we did that because the family who had been a great steward of that land for decades had decided that they needed to sell it, but they wanted to see it preserved. And what came to the rescue in that case with the land and Water Conservation fund, in one of the largest acquisitions of private land, from a willing private seller, an enthusiastic private seller to the public trust, today this is an 89,000acre National Preserve that anyone in the United States can visit, and once again, anyone with a hunting license, you could apply for an elk tag there, you could go fishing there. And its just a remarkable, remarkable place, and it would never this would be this would be covered in vacation homes if it were not for that tool. Mr. Gardner in colorado, i think i mentioned it before, we have an area the size of Rocky Mountain National Park that is held by the public across the state of colorado. Its spread across the state of colorado, but its inaccessible. You cant get to it. The land and Water Conservation fund provides those opportunities to get to that land, access that land. I have heard my colleague, senator daines, talk about how a significant portion of the fishing access in montana you just talked about it is through the land and Water Conservation fund. We have had projects benefiting the Rio Grande National forest, in texas, the lower Rio Grande National wildlife has benefited from it. I think it was will rogers who once said that the rio grande is the only river he ever saw that was in need of irrigation. I think if you look at the land and Water Conservation fund, its something that we can we can all benefit from. Of course while we dont directly border montana, we do border new mexico. There was an article recently that was featured i think by the Nature Conservancy about colorados newest state park. Its in southern colorado right outside a little town called trinidad. It will encompass whats a local landmark known as fishers peak. Trinidad has a great and amazing history, history of the west. You know, from mining and agriculture and the challenges that mining and agriculture have posed over the years, forestry and other things, but what theyre hoping for now is that this newest state park could provide an opportunity for economic revitalization of this of this rural town, this rural area. Its actually going to border right up against new mexico and part of that special land goes into new mexico. But, you know, maybe someday the land and Water Conservation fund will be able to benefit that project. In fact, i know theyre working on it. They may have received it by now. Its an opportunity for us to save rural communities. You know, the land and Water Conservation fund isnt all out of washington. Its coming through the states as well. Thats an opportunity for both of our areas to prosper, particularly our rural communities. Mr. Heinrich as our colleague from montana said let me back up just a moment. The folks in ratone are also very excited about whats going on at fishers peak and looking at different possibilities for their Community Just over the divide from trinidad. One of the places, as my colleague from montana described, of taking public lands that literally belong are held in trust for all of us, but some of them you just cant get to anymore, and because of lands changing hands over the years, private land acquisitions, county road closures at times, sometimes we find ourselves in these positions where something as large as 10,000 or 15,000 acres of planned could find itself cut off from any legal access to the public. In new mexico, we actually had the countrys only wilderness area, designated wilderness area, the save noso, that simply there was no legal public access. There was not a trail, there was not a road, there was no way to get there. And in the recent years, we were able to work with the secretaries of interior and using the land and Water Conservation fund we were able to open up and expand that and today people are able to hike, camp, and hunt. Its usually its got a little water in it, but i dont know anybody whos actually fished there. But its a whole labyrinth of canyons and rim rock country, more similar to what most people would associate with utah. And i can tell you, the community in las vegas nearby and other smaller communities are excited about the opportunities for tourism, for access for sportsmen, to a place that they would completely lost access to. I see weve been joined by our colleague from west virginia, who i know has some really strong feelings about the potential of Outdoor Recreation in his state. I didnt realize how many 13,000 peaks there are in west virginia, but i looked at the map in his office today. And there is a whole mountain chain in west virginia. To our colleague, senator manchin of west virginia, do you want to join us and talk a lull bit about the importance a little bit about the importance of Outdoor Recreation and what this legislation might mean to your state. Mr. Manchin thank you, senator. To all my colleagues, i want to thank you for everyone working as hard as they have. I appreciate very much the job thats been done here and working working with a bipartisan spirit. Every one of us benefit from this. This is a legacy piece of legislation that we can all hopefully our children, generations to come can look back and say, my farmer, my uncle my father, my uncle, my aunt was involved in giving me a piece of america. To get being a is he is to the new gauley has been provided. We have hundreds of thousands of visitors every year is done because of the restore our parks and people being able to conform i told them just about four, five months ago i took my familiment we were in hawaii my family. We were in hawaii. When senators and Congress People go into hawaii and Congress People go into hawaii on a codel. They dont take us to the visitor center. This time i had gone as a normal visitor. I walked in. I was appalled at what i saw. The maps were falling off the wall. The lights werent working. I had a meeting with the staff right there there. I came back and at that time i came back and we started talking. I said, yes, thats the birthplace i said, gentlemen, thats the birthplace defining who we are as a superpower in the world. For our veterans to come see that, i said, this is where we have to begin. I know what it takes. Senator alexander has led this fight with senator warner and others to restore our parks. Teddy roosevelt would be proud of you, senator alexander, of what youve done in leading this charge and all of us working together, putting these two bills together was a master stroke, i believe. On how we could come together. There is enot one person here that i believe we have a few of our friends that have some challenges. Were going to help them as soon as we get this bill passed. In west virginia, in means the world to us. It has benefited our state since 1965. 54 out of 5 counties have benefit out of 55 counties have benefited by it. Whatever you think weve been able to do and whatever has happened, we can do twice as much. Well be able to do twice as much on a regular basis. So im proud to be part of this. Im proud to work with all senator heinrich worked with me tonight. Our staffs worked together. Senator daines and gardner and everybody has worked very close on this. They just pulled us together. I hope we can Stay Together and keep this spirit of bipartisanship in many pieces of legislation. Its going to be great for our country. Thank you for doing what youve done. Mr. Heinrich i think what weve all learned is what a great team this has been and obviously its the land fund, its the land and Water Conservation fund. It also means boat ramps and access and many other things. Were going to continue to Work Together to make sure that all of our states benefit from this program, not just a few. I know my colleague from montana wants to add a few more points to this conversation. Mr. Daines thanks, senator heinrich. Im going to hand this over to the senator from ohio as well as the distinguished senator here from tennessee, who were just so important to this restore our parks act. I know they have a lot to talk about as it relates to our National Passage of the but i want to add one point, senator heinrich, to what you mention around the economic benefits. 70 of the fishing access thats in montana were funded by the land and Water Conservation fund, 70 . And as a kid growing up i had a fly rod in my hand back in the early 1970s before fly fishing became very popular. My grandpa and my dad would take me out. Not unlike the movie a river runs through it. When Robert Redford and brad pitt came out and filmed this amazing movie. It was filmed in montana, on the gallatin river. Little did we know what a movie like that might do to spur our fly fishing industry in montana and now our Outdoor Recreation economy is 7 billion in montana. So what started off as something as access for the public and primarily montanans now has turned into something that has really been an economic driver, as others wanted to share the amazing experiences that we have in places like montana on our rivers and seeing a trout on a fly line. But its a very important economic driver. Mr. Heinrich i think the time has come for us to give back our time. But i want to thank my colleagues for their incredible support and i think folks are going to take over the floor as we move into the next phase here . Or shall we represent that the gentleman from ohio, who is hes been an incredible part of this coalition. Mr. Portman thank you, senator heinrich. Thanks to my colleagues for being here. This is an fewness for us to this is an opportunity for us to do a lot in terms of the land and Water Conservation fund expansion, ensure fishing access, ensure folks have the parks they need and want but it is also an opportunity to fix our parks. This is desperately needed. Our National Parks are in trouble. Just as more and more people are turning to our parks for recreation and fishing and all the other access that we have, 84 million acres of true treasures in America Thanks to Teddy Roosevelt and then many others who followed in his footsteps, we preserved it and protect our history. There is a 12. 5 billion maintenance backlog at our parks. The so visitors that go to our parks when they begin to reopen this summer are going to find that the trail is closed or the toilet doesnt work or the lodge has a leak in the roof and, therefore, they cant visit and when you get a leak in the roof, then you get the mold in the walls and then you get the floor cup on you. Thats whats happening. We havent funded thatment part of the reason is that its just so darn expensive. These are capital expenditures. These are infrastructure expenditures that require significant funds. So part of what this legislation does is finally allow us to catch up here in the United States congress. Its a debt unpaid. In other words, we should have been paying all over these many years to ensure this didnt happen. But, unfortunately, for being dids it has. For decades it has. Some of the funds being used here go directly into these beautiful parks and also to our Forest Service and our wild live refuges, our b. L. M. Land and other lands, including some of our native american lands. And this is to simply stop the erosion really of the beauty of our parks, and that is this historic level of backlog of maintenance projects. So we appreciate the fact that tonight we have an opportunity to finally begin to change our approach and to switch gears. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for helping us to get to this point. Its been a few years now since we started this. Its been through our committee twice. Lots of amendments have been offered and debated. Lots of discussion. We now have the opportunity to make good on the promise that we have made to our children and grandkid that these parks will be preserved for future generations. My colleagues with whom ive worked include senator warner who came up with this idea of saying some of the funds coming from offshe need onshore oil and natural gas and other Energy Products could be diverted to these National Parks to provide the adequate resources to do this. And hes here on the floor this evening. I see senator alexander whos been at this for many years as well, a big proponent of the parks, and has been a key player. Also senator king, angus king, and the four of us have stuck together through thick and thin. I hope tonight will be part of the thick part and that we can get this done over the next several days so that we can indeed keep the promise that weve made, that these National Parks, these National Treasures can be preserved and restored. Senator alexander, do you have something you might want to add . Mr. Alexander madam president , in the middle of the great depression, the people of tennessee and North Carolina looked around and said is why are all the National Parks out west . And so tennessee contributed 2 million, North Carolina 2 million, john d. Rockefeller, jr. Said ill give 5 million in honor of my mother. If you can match it. Then the children of North Carolina and tennessee in the schools raised another 1 million through community efforts. The great Smoky Mountain National Park was created and i have goening to the people of the United States and given to the people of the United States. So the people gave that to the United States and today more than 12 million americans visit it. There are a lot more people that visit it than live in tennessee and North Carolina. And part of the deal was theres no entrance fee. The one thing we wanted or our grandparents wanted at the time was that the American People be good stewards of what we gave to the American People. And today, thanks to the leadership of senator warner, senator portman, senator king, senator manchin and heinrich and daines and gardner on the land and Water Conservation fund, thats happening. Im proud to be a part of it. This is the most significant piece of conservation legislation in at least a halfcentury. And it represents a recognition by the American People that we can be good stewards of what ken burns has called our greatest idea, our National Parks, and our remaining public lands. Mr. Heinrich if we pass this legislation, i think were going to show that we are going to be good stewards of great smoky National Park, the great Smoky Mountains as as well as parks across our country. I know that the nations newest National Park is in new mexico, its white sands. Yet we have, you know, a set of restrooms that sit on top of a sink hole. That for all too long have needed repair. Thats the kind of thing that were going to be able to repair all across our country. I dont see our colleague, senator king of maine, yet. But he oftentimes speak to the fact that what senator alexander and senator portman describe in our deferred maintenance is truly debt. That deferred maintenance is debt. And were going to take responsibility for that and really treat our parks the way they deserve and work to extend the land and Water Conservation fund at the same time. And, mr. Chair, with that, i think i will give back the rest of our time. And i want to thank all of my colleagues for joining me in this colloquy. Mr. Cassidy mr. President , we have a few minutes to go. I didnt realize a colloquy was going on. In this legislation, we put parks over people. We spend billions of dollars taking care of parks and now dont spend a dime taking care of those folks who live in those parishes and counties next to a coastline. Turns out 42 of americans live in a parish or county next to a coastline. And if you havent noticed, weve increasingly had flood events, increasingly have spent billions of dollars rescuing people from floods, repairing their homes afterwards, trying to make them whole. Now, we could have put legislation in this legislation that would allow those peoples needs to be met. But we are putting parks before people. And that is a tragedy. Were going to spend billions on places where we go on vacation, but we wont spend a dime where we live. Where we live, where we raise our children, where we help other people make a living. In this particularly since we know that sea levels are rising, were going to increasingly have these events. We are, if you will, being i dont know how to put it blind to the reality that is before us. And someone mentioned outhouses on top of a sinkhole. What a tragedy. Do you know what really a tragedy is . When someone no, when many people when whole swaths of a city are flooded out, thats a tragedy. Mr. President , were out of time, but i will finish by this. I will feel a lot better about this senate at the point in which we begin to put people over parks and spend at least something on where people live as opposed to where people vacation. Not to take any money away from the parks, but just to put some money to where people live. Mr. President , with that, i yield the floor. The presiding officer the question is on the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion. We, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on amendment numbered 1617 to calendar number 75, h. R. 1957, an act to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986, and so forth and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on amendment numbered 1617, offered by the senator from kentucky, mr. Mcconnell, to h. R. 1957, an act to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to modernize and improve the Internal Revenue service, and for other purposes, shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote the presiding officer on this vote, the yeas why 65, the nays are 13. Three fifths having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. Not be. Mr. Cotton ment the presiding officer the senator from colorado. Mr. Gardner thank you. I ask that the postcloture time with respect to the substitute amendment expired monday june 15. I further ask that senator enzi or his designee be recognized prior to the vote adoption of the substitute amendment to raise a budget point of order. Further, that following the raising of that point of order, senator gardner or his designee be recognized to make a motion to waive the point of order. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 00 p. M. Monday, june 15. Furthering that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and that morning business be closed. Finally, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of calendar number p 5, House Resolution 1957 under the previous order. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Gardner if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the Senate Stands adjourned until 3 00 p. M. Monday

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