The Great American Outdoors Act passes U.S. House 310-107

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act in a 310-107 vote Wednesday, sending the legislation to President Trump’s desk for his signature.  Ahead of the House vote, the President showed his support for the bill on Twitter.

We MUST protect our National Parks for our children and grandchildren. I am calling on the House to pass the GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT today. Thanks @SenCoryGardner and @SteveDaines for all your work on this HISTORIC BILL!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2020

If signed into law, the bill will fully finance the Land and Water Conservation Fund and address the massive maintenance backlog at federal parks.

The National Military Park in Vicksburg has been facing serious erosion issues resulting in the closure of many of the roads throughout the park. The maintenance backlog in the park was close to $19 million in 2017. The state of repairs is so dire that Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. wrote a letter to the White House in February requesting funding to preserve the historical treasure before it is too late.

“Much of the unexpected erosion damage is concentrated in the Vicksburg National Cemetery, the second-largest military cemetery in our nation,” Flaggs wrote. “Graves of our American heroes are in jeopardy—some of which are already covered in mudslides from the natural disaster. The area most at risk is an older section of the cemetery where unknown burials from the 1860s took place, and the United States Colored Troops are interred.”

The bipartisan support for this bill was cited by co-author Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) as an icebreaker for future legislation across the aisle.

“It took public lands to bring a divided government together, and the ‘Great American Outdoors Act’ is no exception,” Daines wrote in an editorial for The Hill. “The bill will prove to be a roadmap for future legislative collaboration, and we look forward to President Trump signing it into law.”