Photo courtesy National Park Service
Negotiations for the $3.5 trillion federal budget reconciliation bill are far from over, and the House Natural Resources Committee is showing us what real support for the outdoors looks like. Led by Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), and supported by the efforts of a few congressional champions, the reconciliation bill is shaping up to be one of the largest investments in outdoor accessibility and equity in a generation.
One key proposal is an investment of $100 million into the Every Kid Outdoors (EKO) program. EKO provides fourth graders and their families with free access to every national park. While the program is popular with youth and families, it has never been adequately funded. This massive investment, championed by Representative Katie Porter (D-CA), would help the program live up to its full potential. Expanding the scope of EKO would include greater accessibility for persons with disabilities and increasing transit connections to our public lands so that more young people are able to experience the mental and physical health benefits of nature.
"After years of disinvestment in communities and neglect of our public lands, this big, bold budget proposal would help us build healthy and safe communities and ensure that future generations are able to establish direct and powerful connections with nature."
Another groundbreaking proposal is a $100 million investment to support local parks. Parks have been essential resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving us healthy and open spaces for rest, respite, and recovery. However, nearly 100 million Americans do not live within a 10-minute walk of a quality park, and communities of color enjoy fewer and smaller parks than their wealthier and whiter counterparts. The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program seeks to address this by building and improving parks in urban areas, with an eye towards increasing outdoor equity, but its funding has always been a fraction of what it needs to succeed. Directing $100 million to ORLP would be a game-changer for communities across the country, and Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA) is working to increase that funding even further. If she’s successful, it would be the biggest investment in our parks and green spaces in years.
Finally, the committee backed $3 billion for the creation of a modern CCC. Inspired by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program, a modern CCC would put people to work building the roads, trails, and infrastructure we need to make our public lands more accessible, and making our communities more resilient to the threats of climate change. It would also provide youth with essential skills and good wages. The modern CCC is consistently one of the most popular proposals in the reconciliation bill, with a majority of Americans — including a majority of Republicans — in favor of the program.
Much work remains to be done before the final bill will receive a vote, but these proposals are a hopeful sign. Now the Senate must go bolder; the investments suggested so far should be floors, not ceilings. After years of disinvestment in communities and neglect of our public lands, this big, bold budget proposal would help us build healthy and safe communities and ensure that future generations are able to establish direct and powerful connections with nature.