Campaign to make LWCF permanent cranked up ( in new Congress )
The politics are complicated but Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) took a first step January 12 toward permanent authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The law is presently authorized through September 30, 2018. Legislation to make LWCF permanent almost made it over the finish line in December in an omnibus energy bill. But differences of opinion between the House and Senate on a host of provisions did the bill in.
The lead sponsor of the energy bill, Senate Energy Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), has said she wants to renew her campaign to move the measure early in this Congress. However, her counterpart as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), has been hesitant to give carte blanche to a permanent LWCF. Last summer he did introduce a “discussion draft” bill that would have extended LWCF for seven years and substantially realigned program priorities.
Bishop’s draft would have slashed funding for the federal side of LWCF but given greater support to the state side. States traditionally receive a small fraction of the total LWCF pie; the draft Bishop bill would have guaranteed them 45 percent. In addition Bishop would have allocated five percent of LWCF to an urban recreation fund, sort of a follow-on to an Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery program. He would have allocated just 3.5 percent to federal land acquisition. The ( new ) Grijalva bill is simpler. It simply makes LWCF permanent and allocates at least 1.5 percent of the annual LWCF appropriation for sportsmen’s access to public lands.
In its version of an omnibus energy bill the Senate last year would not only have made LWCF permanent, it would also have set aside $150 million each year for Park Service maintenance from offshore royalties, but in a separate fund from LWCF. The Senate provision also would have allotted at least 1.5 percent of LWCF to sportsmen’s access, and allotted 40 percent to federal land acquisition and 40 percent to a group of programs, including state grants. The House-passed version of the energy bill contained none of those provisions.
As a first order of business the Grijalva permanent LWCF bill would require the support of President-elect Trump and his nominee for secretary of Interior, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) In the last Congress Zinke cosponsored Grijalva’s bill, along with 25 other Republicans. However, some conservative groups, such as the American Land Rights Association, are critics of LWCF and have faulted Zinke for cosponsoring the Grijalva bill. To put pressure on Bishop Grijalva sent a letter asking for hearings and immediate action on his bill.
Said Grijalva, “The brinksmanship over LWCF in the last Congress was a disservice to the American people, who overwhelmingly support the program. By moving quickly to pass this bill, we can avoid a similar situation this time around and show that Congress can, in fact, get something done. Voters across the political spectrum understand the value of LWCF in their communities. There is no room for ideology here.”
In an ideal world LWCF advocates would prefer legislation that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced in the last Congress that would not only have made LWCF permanent, but also have guaranteed $900 million per year for the program without further appropriations. Cantwell is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee.
