Lawmakers work on fix after fund lapses

WA SHINGTON» A popular program that supports conservation and outdoor recreation projects across the country expired after Congress could not agree on language to extend it.

Lawmakers from both parties back the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but the program lapsed Monday amid dispute over whether its renewal should be part of a broader package of landuse and parks bills.

A Senate committee approved a bill on Tuesday to permanently reauthorize the fund and ensure it is fully paid for.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 167 to endorse a bill offered by Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, the panel’s top Democrat. Five Republicans joined all 11 Democrats to advance the bill to the full Senate.

Cantwell calls the conservation fund “the key tool” that Congress uses to help communities “preserve recreation opportunities and make the most costeffective use of the land.”

The committee also approved a separate bill to address a growing backlog for maintenance projects at national parks. A bill led by Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Lamar Al exander of Tennessee would use federal drilling royalties to create a multibilliondollar maintenance fund for parks across the country.

The committee approved the bill, 194, sending it to the full Senate.

Portman said he has been concerned about the maintenance backlog — now estimated at about $12 billion — since he was budget director under President George W. Bush more than a decade ago.

“We put something in the budget to deal with the backlog, not enough, but Congress has tried in different ways,” he said. “To me, it’s about good stewardship. It’s about saving tax dollars over the long term with predictable funding for capital expenditures. “

Sen. Richard Burr, RN.C., called the fund one of the most popular and effective programs Congress has ever created. Congressional inaction has been frustrating, Burr said, especially since no one disagrees that the program is valuable and costeffective.

The program uses federal royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling to fund conservation and public recreation projects around the country. The fund is authorized to collect $900 million a year but generally receives less than half that amount from Congress.