On May 21, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would take up the Great American Outdoors Act (S.3422) when it returns in June. This legislation, which has strong bipartisan support of 56 Senators, would provide funding to address deferred maintenance at our National Parks and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
At a time when our nation is in the midst of a global pandemic, Americans can’t afford for another disaster to strike. The effects of natural catastrophes are no secret – we’ve seen the impacts of last year’s California wildfires and the intensifying hurricanes that regularly plague the southeast coasts. What we have yet to experience, however, are how to manage disaster relief efforts look like while simultaneously fighting a global health pandemic.