Great American Outdoors Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, just this week, on the floor, we will complete a major piece of legislation that will benefit generations to come. Thanks to a number of our colleagues--particularly the junior Senators from Colorado and Montana--the Senate is poised to take historic action for the future of the Nation's public lands.

I haven't been the only one coming to the floor to highlight how my constituents prize our State's national parks, wildlife refuge, and other managed areas--for recreation and for many livelihoods. We Kentuckians are proud that our Commonwealth is home to one of the National Park Service's crowning jewels at Mammoth Cave. We are proud of our historic sites like Mill Springs Battlefield and our wildlife refuges at the Clarks and Green Rivers. And I am proud that the Senate this week will provide permanent, steady support to maintain these treasures for generations to come.

As we have heard, the same is true for Colorado, where entire regional economies are driven by outdoor recreation in alpine wonderlands; for Montana, where Federal and State management work hand in hand with local sportsmen and Native American Tribes to preserve millions of acres of pristine, Big Sky wilderness; for West Virginia, where 54 of 55 counties have benefited from the Land and Water Conservation Fund investment; and for Ohio, where the Cuyahoga Valley puts parkland in the backyards of millions of people. The list goes on and on.

Public lands hold a unique place in the life of every State in America--from their natural beauty, to their use for recreation, to their pivotal roles in local economies. In the communities just outside of the gates, public lands drive over $40 billion in economic activity every year, and they play a big part in the entire outdoor recreation industry that creates hundreds of billions of dollars in national prosperity every year

Once again, I am grateful to our colleagues who have stewarded the Great American Outdoors Act thus far; to Senator Gardner and Senator Daines for their leadership; and to Senators Alexander, Portman, Manchin, and Warner for their efforts as well to steer this strong, bipartisan product toward the finish line. I look forward to continuing to advance this legislation today and passing it this week.

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