The Land and Water Conservation Fund saw its authorization lapse for the first time in the program’s 50 year history last September. House leaders controversially allowed the program’s authorization to lapse in order to leverage reforms of the program.
The House Natural Resources Committee held hearings examining potential changes to the LWCF, but reform efforts were ultimately met with little support. The LWCF was funded and reauthorized without reforms for an additional 3 years by the federal spending bill that was passed in December 2015. Now unburdened by an authorization fight over the program, lawmakers are asking for robust funding for the LWCF in the FY2017 appropriations bill. A letter authored by California Representative Mike Thompson and co-signed by 200 bipartisan lawmakers was sent to the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee this past week detailing the important programs the LWCF funds and the need to support the programs at a higher funding level. Congress is set to begin the appropriations process after they return from the current recess which ends April 11, 2016.