Legislative Alert #6

What is CARA?

Capitol Hill Update House CARA Bill Receives 310 Cosponsors!! (New Senate Bills Introduced)

Momentum is building in Congress right now to capitalize on a unique opportunity to invest more than $2.8 billion from offshore oil and gas revenues for parks, wildlife, coastal impact and restoration programs, as well as a variety of other conservation programs, through the bipartisan Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA, H.R. 701), which passed the House Resources Committee in 1999, and now enjoys the support of 310 cosponsors - or two-thirds of the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, President Clinton has proposed a similar permanent investment in conservation funding through his Lands Legacy Initiative. And, as described below, in the past week, several new bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate.

What's In CARA?
House Resources Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK), the committee's ranking member, Representative George Miller (D-CA), and the bipartisan group of 310 Members of Congress who cosponsored H.R. 701 are to be commended for their leadership. In addition to the unprecedented funding for wildlife, conservation easements, historic preservation, coastal assistance, and other conservation programs, CARA incorporates the tradition of LWCF by providing on an annual basis:

* Full funding for LWCF at its authorized $900 million level

* Equitable allocation of funds between the federal and state programs, with $450 million for federal LWCF and $450 for state matching grants

* Traditional use of stateside funds for recreation enhancement

* Revived Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR) funded at $125 million


What's Not?
In advancing this bill, CARA can be improved by:

* Providing that the full $450 million in federal LWCF funding will be spent each year

* Recognizing the need to protect regional lands of national significance

* Recognizing that LWCF matching grants should not supplant state general funds, if states can adequately match the LWCF grant, they should not be penalized by fluctuating annual budgets

* Ensuring that the Department of the Interior has adequate funding to manage LWCF

Building on the momentum generated on the House side, a new bipartisan Senate bill, S. 2123, which is identical to H.R. 701 was introduced by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Frank Murkowski (R-AK), and Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), John Breaux (D-LA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS). Senate bill S. 2123 was introduced as a companion to H.R. 701.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), joined by Senators Fritz Hollings (D-SC), Max Baucus (D-MT), John Kerry (D-MA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Richard Bryan (D-NV), and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), also have just introduced the Conservation and Stewardship Act (CASA, S. 2182). The proposed legislation dedicates almost $2.9 billion annually for a wide range of conservation programs, including 900 million for LWCF, split evenly between its federal and state matching grants programs, $125 million for non-federal lands of regional or national interest, and $75 million for UPARR. Other programs funded on a permanent basis include coastal assistance and impact aid, wildlife protection, historic preservation, park protection, and conservation easements. More specific details and dollar amounts will be forthcoming.