Great American Outdoors Act Passes the Senate!

Dear Friend,

The Senate just passed the Great American Outdoors Act - the greatest investment in our national parks and public lands in generations! I am proud to have played a leading role in this successful bipartisan effort, and I am so grateful to all the New Mexicans who have worked for years to get us to where we are today.

VIDEO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich celebrates the Senate's passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, June 17, 2020.

The Great American Outdoors Act fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund at the level that was always intended. For more than 50 years, LWCF has been one of our greatest tools for opening up public access to outdoor opportunities in treasured landscapes like the Valles Caldera and Ute Mountain. It also helps communities across the country build neighborhood parks and sports fields so every kid can easily access outdoor spaces near home. 

This landmark conservation bill also finally puts real resources behind fixing long-running maintenance challenges in our national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management lands, and at Bureau of Indian Education schools. Investing in infrastructure improvements will create thousands of jobs at a time when we really need them. It's estimated that infrastructure projects in our National Park Service alone could create as many as 110,000 jobs. Beyond the immediate economic impact, these improvements will create a lasting outdoor heritage that we will all benefit from for years to come.

Now that we've passed the Great American Outdoors Act in the Senate, we must call on the House to take up this bill next, and then call on the president to sign it into law.

Let's keep up the momentum to make this major investment in the outdoor places we all love.

Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH

United States Senator