Subject: Money down the drain: Bills funding public lands pass key Senate committee with bipartisan support Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:16 pm
Bills funding public lands and conservation passed a key U.S. Senate committee with bipartisan support on Tuesday, a move praised by outdoor groups and environmental advocates. The four federal agencies tasked with managing public lands – the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service – are facing a maintenance backlog of more than $19 billion. The National Park Service alone faces nearly $12 billion in deferred maintenance costs, which are maintenance costs that have been put off due to budgetary constraints.