Washington, D.C. - The National Governors' Association (NGA) has approved a statement of policy in support of all three provisions of the "Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999" (H.R. 701) - legislation which would share Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues with coastal states while increasing funding for national conservation and recreation programs in all 50 states and territories.
The NGA, which includes the Governors of all 50 states and U.S. territories, approved the policy statement Tuesday during its Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.
"This bipartisan legislation is gaining momentum every day," said U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). "With the nation's Governors now supporting all three of the primary concepts of our bill, the growing coalition of Democrats and Republicans supporting our effort has gained additional bipartisan support.
"With this new support, we will continue our bipartisan effort to pass legislation that will provide equity to our coastal states while improving conservation and wildlife programs in all 50 states."
First Hearing Scheduled For March 10th
Young announced today that the first Congressional hearing on H.R. 701 would be on March 10th before the House Committee on Resources.
The Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 (H.R. 701) is bipartisan legislation which will share federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues with impacted states and support national conservation and wildlife education programs. Without creating any new taxes, the legislation will provide substantial increases in wildlife and land conservation funding by reinvesting OCS revenues for environmental programs in all 50 states and funding to states which are impacted by OCS development.
The bill was introduced on February 10th by a number of Members of Congress, including those who developed the concepts of the bill last summer:
Democrats & Republicans Support H.R. 701
The bipartisan legislation now has 19 Republicans and 18 Democrats as cosponsors.
"This bill has strong support from both Democrats and Republicans," Young said. "And the Members sponsoring this legislation range from Rhode Island to Alaska to Florida, and from Michigan to Kentucky to Oklahoma.
"We have urban supporters like Rep. Charles Rangel of Manhattan and Rep. Edolphus Townes of Brooklyn, to rural members like Rep. Collin Peterson of northern Minnesota and Rep. Wes Watkins of southeastern Oklahoma.
"All regions of the nation are represented in this growing coalition.
Other Bills Have Been Introduced Based Upon Concepts Of H.R. 701
"There are also a number of other bills being introduced based upon the concepts of H.R. 701, including the Clinton Administration's 'Lands Legacy Initiative'. The most important difference in all of the bills is that the 'Conservation and Reinvestment Act' places its focus on funding mechanisms which enhance each states' ability to fund their conservation and wildlife programs instead of just dumping a majority of the funding into federal programs.
"I have contacted the sponsors of the other bills and told them my door is open to them as we continue our efforts to pass the best possible bill to provide the needed funding to these important conservation programs and restore equity in the OCS revenue sharing to our states."
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