Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
You can watch Chairman King’s opening statement HERE, and download broadcast quality video HERE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, today convened a hearing to evaluate the implementation of Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) and ensure that the legislation is providing the greatest possible benefit to America’s National Parks. Chairman King helped lead the passage of the GAOA into law; the legislation included the Restore Our Parks Act – a bill led by King – and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Permanent Funding Act. During his opening remarks, Chairman King, highlighted the incredible nature of “America’s Best Idea,” the historic accomplishments of the GAOA, and the need for proper oversight to ensure the legislation is properly implemented.
“America’s public lands connect our people, giving common gathering places for some of life’s sweetest moments – from sunrises over Acadia’s rocky coast to sunsets bouncing light off the canyons in Zion; from the overwhelming expanses of Yellowstone to the everyday joys found in local nature preserves,” began Chairman King. “These lands are a uniquely American inheritance that have been passed on by those who came before us – and now, it’s our job on this Subcommittee, and in this Congress, to ensure that we are doing our part to steward these treasures for the next generation.”
“In 2020, Congress took a massive, bipartisan step to accomplish that goal. I was proud to work with my colleague and Vice Chair of this subcommittee on that work: the Great American Outdoors Act, which was the most important land conservation legislation in a generation,” said Chairman King. “This legislation is an incredible accomplishment – but the words on the paper won’t make a difference without the proper follow-through. One of my mottos in life is execution is as important as vision. And that’s what we’re talking about today –that’s why our subcommittee is meeting for the first Congressional hearing on the implementation of the Great American Outdoors Act.”
“I see this hearing as an opportunity to begin conversations around potential future funding for the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund. In 2019, 2025 seemed a long way away. Today, it doesn’t seem that far away,” Chairman King continued. “I know that $9.5 billion is a large sum, but it represents only a portion of the funding needed to eliminate the more than $25 billion in current estimate in deferred maintenance needs plaguing our public lands. Clearly, there’s more to do. Deferred maintenance isn’t responsible – it’s putting off until tomorrow what you already know you owe today.”
“The need for this conversation is even more pressing because the Park Service annual maintenance budget is not keeping up with the annual need – meaning that even as we pay down that backlog, the list of projects, regrettably, continues to grow,” concluded Chairman King. “We’ve made great strides, but more will have to be done to ensure that we keep “America’s Best Idea” alive and well for the next generation. That’s why I’m looking forward to today’s discussion and the valuable insights of our witnesses and our committee members.”
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Later in the hearing, Chairman King pressed Brian Bloodsworth, the Director of the Great American Outdoor Act Program Management Office, to use all available funding – including from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and local philanthropic groups – to support National Parks and surrounding communities.
“The other piece of bipartisan historic legislation that’s passed around here in the past couple of years is the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. I want to be sure that both departments are using that resource as well, because particularly when we’re talking about roads and we’re talking about transportation networks that seems to be a fruitful area of complimentary funding sources,” said Chairman King. “In addition, the possibility for other kinds of projects, not necessarily roads but perhaps, is philanthropic support. Our parks are well-loved and I know in Maine we have Friends of Acadia and it’s a very dedicated group of people, so are we maximizing, I’ll ask you Mr. Bloodsworth, are we maximizing the opportunity for complimentary and matching funds and those kinds of things? Matching is a very effective way to generate philanthropic support for example.”
“We are certainly working to have many type of leveraging across all of our investments that we’re making. In some cases those investments are easier to fundraise for than others. The maintenance action teams that are being employed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Park Service are great opportunities to do that,” replied Mr. Bloodsworth. “They are the types of investments that are being made that lend themselves to more local, smaller efforts, that as juxtaposed against the massive waste water and water treatment systems that are not quite as easy to fundraise for. So yes, that is something we are very focused on. Have we maximized it? I would say no, there is definitely room for opportunity to do better there, but it is something that we are certainly working towards.”
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In his final round of questioning Chairman King highlighted the importance of giving National Parks enough funding to be adequately staffed, and committed his support to secure to secure this funding. The questioning comes on the heels of a letter from the Chairman to top Senate appropriators calling for them allocate sufficient funds for National Park Service staff, as visitation and workloads increase in the system.
“I’ll commit to you, on my own behalf, to argue strenuously in the budget process for adequate maintenance funds as well as adequate staffing. As you know, this isn’t the subject of this hearing, but, as you know, visitation is exploding and staffing is about where it was in 2013. And we’re not serving the public or these parks and recreation areas adequately if we’re not either maintaining them or staffing them adequately,” said Chairman King. “So you make the request and I’ll certainly do whatever I can in my modest way to try to assist you on both maintenance and staffing.”
Senator King is among the Senate’s most prominent voices advocating for public lands and encouraging outdoor recreation – having shared his vision to serve as an “Activist Chairman” to modernize the NPS in the 21st Century. As Chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee, Senator King has convened hearings to examine the impacts on the National Park System of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what can be done to address the growing issue of park overcrowding. Just last week, King introduced a bill to create a “Waze for Parks” that would reduce crowding and boost awareness of lesser-visited recreation areas.
Senator King helped lead the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) into law; the legislation includes the Restore Our Parks Act – a bill led in part by Senator King – and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Permanent Funding Act. The historic legislative package continues Senator King’s career-long focus on conservation efforts, dating back to his work prior to running for elected office through his years as Governor and his service in the Senate. Over the course of his time in the Blaine House, Governor King was responsible for conserving more land across Maine than all Governors before him combined. In recognition of his lifetime of environmental advocacy, Senator King was recently awarded the inaugural National Park Foundation (NPF) “Hero” Award.