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Floor Speech
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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan Outdoors for All Act. This legislation would ensure that access to local parks and outdoor recreation is equitable and available to all.
The Outdoors for All Act would codify and strengthen the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program at the Interior Department, which provides grants to build new outdoor recreation spaces, improve existing parks, and form connections between underserved, urban communities and the outdoors.
It specifically invests in parks and open spaces in areas where the majority of Americans live. Any single urban area or two adjacent urban areas with a population of at least 25,000 can qualify for grants, which can benefit residents in all 50 States.
These grants would fund projects in park-poor, urban communities, and the bill would require the National Park Service to prioritize projects that support underserved communities, provide job-training to youth, and leverage resources through public-private partnerships.
As our cities grow and the effects of climate change intensify, this bill will increase equitable access to the many benefits of local parks, from job creation, to shade and tree cover, the reduction of the urban heat island effect, and clean air.
Nationwide, 100 million people, including 28 million children, do not have a park within a half-mile of home. That is almost one-third of America.
Additionally, in the 100 most populated cities, neighborhoods where most residents identify as Black, Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Asian American and Pacific Islander have access to an average of 44 percent less park acreage than predominantly White neighborhoods.
For example, in Los Angeles, low-income communities and communities of color lack equal access to parks--a Los Angeles County survey found that Compton reported only 0.6 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, in contrast to Malibu, which has 55.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.
This bill would address this staggering inequity in Los Angeles and across the country and make equity and justice a key focus of park investment and planning.
I thank Senator Collins for introducing this legislation with me in the Senate and Congresswoman Barragan and Congressman Turner for leading this effort in the House of Representatives.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Outdoors for All Act soon as possible. ______
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