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House Passes Legislation Containing Dedicated Funding for LWCF

Land and Water Conservation Fund state assistance program would receive funds.

The House of Representatives passed major legislation today by a vote of 367-45 that includes the Senate plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a plan which would dedicate 12.5% of lease royalty payments to the Land and Water Conservation Fund state assistance program (LWCF).

The House voted down a major amendment by Rep. Markey (D-MA) 205-207, which would have inserted a so-called "royalty relief" plan which would have targeted unpaid oil and gas royalties from the late 1990's.

This bill, H.R. 6111, which contains many other unrelated provisions including tax credits for small businesses, payments to physicians for Medicare reimbursement, and other provisions, must still be approved by the Senate, something which must occur before this Congress adjourns if the bill is to become law.

If the bill is finally passed, this will be the first time in the 40 year history of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act that funding would be directly dedicated to the LWCF state assistance program and not subject to annual appropriations.

Passage of this multi-faceted bill by the Senate is not a foregone conclusion. Watch for breaking news updates from NRPA as they occur.

For further information contact: Rich Dolesh, Director of Public Policy, rdolesh@nrpa.org or Michael Phillips, Policy and Advocacy Specialist, mphillips@nrpa.org.

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