Senate Republicans pushing politically strategic bill to protect some public lands - Entrepreneur Generations

After decades of frustration over low levels of funding, the nation’s conservation community is on the brink of realizing a long-held goal — legislation that would assure that federal money is available for the preservation of public lands," Carl Hulse reports for The New York Times. "That is thanks to a desire among Republicans to protect what they consider two worthy assets of their own: the jobs of [Senator Corey Gardner of Colorado] and Senator Steve Daines of Montana."

The legislation would fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million annually, Hulse reports.

Gardner and Daines are both running for reelection in November and are considered vulnerable. But helping them via the public lands bill "has required an about-face by the president and the grudging cooperation of some Republicans who have long opposed the measure on principle, believing it adds too much to the soaring deficit. The legislation cleared a procedural hurdle on Monday by a lopsided vote, 80 to 17, in an indication that it is headed for passage this month," Hulse reports. "Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is eager to hold on to his position as majority leader after November’s elections, has gotten behind the bill . . . He is always careful to credit the two Western senators for the measure that he describes in glowing terms."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/3hehghG Senate Republicans pushing politically strategic bill to protect some public lands - Entrepreneur Generations

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