Washington, D.C. – In anticipation of today’s House Natural Resources Committee votes on H.R. 3195, Rep. Van Drew’s bill providing full, permanent and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, H.R. 1941, legislation by Rep. Cunningham to ban offshore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and H.R. 205, legislation by Rep. Rooney to ban offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued the following statement from Conservation Program Director Alex Taurel:

“These bills would boost communities’ coastal and outdoor recreation economies by preserving our lands, waters and beaches. While permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund was an important step, without dedicated funding communities will continue to miss out on increased opportunities to access public lands, preserve sensitive fish and wildlife habitat, and create parks and playgrounds for underserved communities. Coastal communities have no reason to rely on Interior Secretary Bernhardt’s pause on the Trump administration’s radical offshore drilling expansion plan, which is why they are counting on Congress to step in and protect our coasts. We commend Reps. Van Drew, Cunningham, and Rooney and Chairman Grijalva for their leadership on these issues and urge the pro-environment House of Representatives to bring these bipartisan bills to the floor.”

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