Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, first, I want to express my gratitude to Senator Cruz for his very gracious effort today on the floor of the Senate.

You talk about a champion, a mature, experienced, reliable, and responsible voice in this body--that is Senator Cruz from Texas. What he just did today in deciding to not object to a piece of legislation that we worked on for so long was the right thing to do, and we credit him for that.

We also stand here saying that we want to do everything we can to ensure that his major piece of legislation is one that does get passed--out of Senate previously--out of the House, the TAKE IT DOWN legislation, and take it down to the White House, where it gets signed into law. It will be such a benefit to so many Americans.

We stand united in this Senate behind Senator Cruz, who will soon be the chairman of the Commerce Committee, to thank him for his efforts and his help and his assistance on this bill today in this body.

I also rise to congratulate my friend and colleague Senator Manchin, who will be leaving this body, on the success here today.

If the Senator from West Virginia would like to head over to thank and shake hands and walk in front of me to congratulate and thank the Senator from Texas--

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Mr. BARRASSO. I want to congratulate him on the success in the passage of the EXPLORE Act. This is great news for every State, all 50 States. It is certainly most important and very important to my home State of Wyoming.

As is often the case in this body but not often seen by the press and by the public, this bill is bipartisan. It is a first-of-its-kind recreation package, and it will boost our Nation's outdoor economy.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation added over $1 trillion to our national economy in 2023--$1.2 trillion. That is 2.3 percent of our entire gross domestic product, our Nation's gross domestic product. This is a big deal.

In my home State of Wyoming, outdoor recreation contributed over $2.2 billion to our State's economy. That is 4.1 percent of our State's gross domestic product. We have a strong outdoor legacy in Wyoming. We work hard to support the local communities. We try to do that by developing an outdoor recreation economy. We do it all across the State.

The EXPLORE Act that we have just passed here in the Senate-- previously passed the House and will soon be on the way to the White House--is going to help Wyoming and help the rest of the Nation increase access to the great outdoors.

This legislation does several things. It streamlines and simplifies the permitting process for outdoor guides and outfitters.

Chairman Manchin and I began working on this legislation the last Congress. It is the result of years of work, bipartisan work. Senators east and west, north and south are committed to this legislation. It includes bills from many Members on the House floor as well as the Senate floor.

For example, this bill includes the Federal Interior Land Media Act. It is called the FILM Act. The FILM Act modernizes film and photography permitting on public lands. Now, you think that wouldn't be an issue, but it is. What we have seen is, currently, anyone who uploads a video at our national parks of the adventures they may have had as tourists-- they put it up on a social media platform--and I know, Mr. President, your social media platform is heavily subscribed. People turn to it regularly. Well, they also do that at the national parks, put things on social media posts. Well, you know, in national parks right now, you have to obtain a permit and pay a fee. You wouldn't think that would be the case.

The Park Service hasn't enforced that requirement consistently, but it has been fining people whose videos become very popular. So you would find yourself in that position, Mr. President, had you gone to the national parks and posted something, knowing how popular your videos have become.

There are examples of families who have been fined by the Park Service for posting their vacation videos on YouTube. That is not right. So this bill updates the law by requiring Agencies to focus on actual impacts to park resources. That is not visitors' videos.

The FILM Act is a win for the First Amendment and for commonsense management of our public lands.

This piece of legislation--there are lots and lots of very good component parts of this. It also includes something called the Connect Our Parks Act. That bill ensures visitors to our national parks have access to cellphone service--realizing how vital that is to save someone's life if they find themselves lost, stranded, or they can't find their way back. It directs the National Park Service to assess where broadband and cellular service is lacking in each park. The Park Service will then develop a plan on how to improve these services over time. This has been long overdue.

The legislation also includes something called the CAPE Act. The CAPE Act is a conservation victory for, specifically, Grand Teton National Park's native bighorn sheep. Of course, Grand Teton National Park is in my home State of Wyoming. These iconic animals are threatened by nonnative mountain goats. Through coordinated efforts with the U.S. Park Service, volunteers play a major role in helping to conserve the bighorn sheep by culling the nonnative goats.

Current law gives discretion to the Park Service to donate the meat obtained during these wildlife management activities. Unfortunately, the rest of the animal goes to waste. The CAPE Act would allow the Park Service to donate the hides and the horns to the volunteers who help protect our native bighorn sheep.

Finally, let me conclude by reminding all those viewing today that Americans love to recreate outdoors. Whether it is hunting or fishing, hiking or skiing, we need to support these and many other activities by modernizing the very way that the government manages them.

The EXPLORE Act does this, and I am glad the Senate has passed it. I am grateful for the cosponsorship and the hard work and the work together I have done with Senator Manchin, and I am so very grateful that Senator Cruz would come to the floor and, in such a gracious way, help us with the passage of this important piece of legislation on the Senate floor today.

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Mr. BARRASSO. It would eliminate multiple-use management from hundreds of thousands of acres of Federal land. It would also grant authority to the Secretary of the Interior to convey thousands of acres of Federal land to local governments in Nevada. Other Western States are trying to do this exact same thing.

Former Majority Leader Harry Reid cut special deals in the past like this for Nevada. I am happy to work with my friend and colleague from Nevada, but Congress should not enact another special deal for Nevada when other Western States are seeking similar legislation.

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