LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON:

• H.R. 5210 (Rep. Michael K. Simpson), To establish the National Park Restoration Fund, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 2584 (Rep. Will Hurd), To amend title 54, United States Code, to establish, fund, and provide for the use of amounts in a National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund to address the maintenance backlog of the National Park Service, and for other purposes. "National Park Service Legacy Act of 2017."

TOPLINE MESSAGES:

• Addressing the $11.6 billion dollars of deferred maintenance across the National Park System will require a dedicated source of funding to invest in park infrastructure and asset needs.
• Unfortunately, H.R. 5210 is a cynical attempt to build support for additional oil and gas drilling on our nation’s public lands and off our coasts.
• Unlike the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which gets the first dollars from energy development, this proposal would only get money over and above what is already expected to be raised – money for the Parks would be dependent on more drilling and more mining.
• H.R. 2584 – the National Park Service Legacy Act – is a more certain approach that provides a dedicated stream of money to address deferred maintenance.
• Instead of tying the NPS backlog to new drilling, Congress should make the backlog a priority in the Interior Appropriations process.