Aug. 26, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the elimination of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and beginning the return of lands to the states, localities, and the private sector as part of Americans for Limited Government’s program to identify wasteful federal spending:
“The federal government owns too much land — approximately 640 million acres. This is more land than is contained in the 21 states in the Northeast and the Midwest. In spite of its massive holdings, the government continues to buy more with funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. At the same time, the government cannot properly maintain the land it now owns. In fact, the federal government has a huge backlog of deferred maintenance projects; adding up to more than $11 billion at the National Park Service alone. For these and other reasons, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which currently contains more than $21 billion, should be eliminated, and the federal government should begin returning its lands to the states, localities, and the private sector while using the funds to meet the backlog costs and make our national parks great again.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.
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