October 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 47

By Joel Pannell and david tyahla

ADVOCACY UPDATE

Legislative Focus
Status of and outlook for NRPA's
priorities in the 112th Congress

hilE thE WEathER in Washington, D.c., has

shuttERstock

cooled, the legislative landscape is heating
back up as Congress, returned from the August recess, focuses on reviving a struggling economy and creating jobs. Appearing before a joint session of
Congress in early September, President Obama put forth the American Jobs Act, a legislative proposal that includes $447 million in tax cuts and spending increases aimed
to improve the economy through investments in education and infrastructure, assistance to state and local governments, and various other measures.
The U.S. House and Senate have begun serious
discussions to complete the FY12 appropriations process. This will ultimately determine funding levels
for all federal agencies and programs for the current fiscal year, which began October 1. Additionally, the Joint Deficit Reduction Committee, also known
as the Super Committee, has begun work on bringing a deficit reduction plan before Congress by November 23. If the bi-partisan committee is unable to
come up with a plan that can pass both chambers by
December 23, $1.5 trillion in automatic spending cuts
will go into effect under the debt ceiling agreement
reached this summer.
All of these things and other decisions made in
the 112th Congress have the potential to have a tremendous impact on the parks and recreation community. Many federal programs that have long
provided resources to state and local agencies are
in serious jeopardy of being cut or eliminated. In a
time of economic uncertainty and inevitable budget
cuts, all sectors must, in some ways, justify their existence. There has never been a more important time
for advocates to make the case for the vital role that
parks and recreation plays-not only in enhancing
the quality of life for people and families, but also in
reviving the economy, creating jobs, and building a
healthier, viable, and sustainable America, now and
for generations to come.
The following provides an overall outlook for each
of NRPA's legislative priorities in the 112th Congress.
For the most up-to-date information, please visit the

Advocacy section of the NRPA website at www.nrpa.
org. Don't miss this year's Federal Policy education
session at next month's annual NRPA Congress and
Exhibition in Atlanta. For more information on this
year's NRPA Congress, please visit www.nrpa.org/
congress.

The land and Water Conservation fund
(lWCf) state assistance Program
In July, the House Appropriations Committee passed
its version of the FY12 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. The bill provides only $2.8 million
for LWCF Stateside compared to the $40 million the
program received in FY10 and FY11. The Senate bill
has yet to come up for consideration but committee staff has indicated that cuts are likely to occur in
their version as well. Key Majority and Minority staff
have stressed the fact that Senators Reed (D-RI) and
Murkowski (R-AK) need to hear from other senators
regarding funding for LWCF Stateside in FY12 in order to save the funding. In FY11, LWCF Stateside received level funding despite a 33 percent reduction
in LWCF. This was an astounding achievement and
resulted from the advocacy efforts of State Assistance
advocates. FY12 funding will only be saved with the
same level of advocacy.
On a related note, the National Park Service released a report in August that recommends changing the way LWCF Stateside funds are distributed.
Rather than the current model which allocates funds
to states by formula and then to local governments

w w w . N R P A . O R G O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1 Parks

& Recreation

October 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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