Senate Passes Bill By Sen. Rob Portman To Fund National Park Repairs
Cleveland.com cites CEI’s letter to congress regarding the Great American Outdoors Act:
Although Portman described the legislation as a “win-win,” critics of the bill noted it would add $17.3 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade. The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Wyoming Republican Mike Enzi, called it “the latest in an unprecedented spending spree Congress has been on for the past year.”
Dozens of conservative organizations oppose the legislation, arguing that it would fund a “federal land grab.”
“It will take private land out of productive use and off the property tax rolls in rural areas that can least afford it,” said a letter signed by groups including Americans for Prosperity, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the American Energy Alliance. “And taxpayers will be forced to pay for maintaining these lands in perpetuity.”