October 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 48

advocacy update continued from page 45

through a state competitive process,
NPS is recommending awarding grants
through a competitive process where the
Department of Interior would ultimately
select which projects would be funded.
This would significantly impact the number of communities receiving stateside
funding.
NRPA public policy staff is working
diligently to protect current funding levels for LWCF Stateside as well as the distribution model that has resulted in 98
percent of American counties receiving
funds.

Transportation Funding
Proposed changes in federal transportation funding don't bode well for parks.
Facing a September 30 expiration and
with work on a full reauthorization nowhere near completed, Congress recently
approved another six-month extension of
the Surface Transportation Act (SAFETEALU). The good news is the latest extension
was a " clean " one, with no changes in policy. That means bike and pedestrian trails
funding, which has been under threat in
proposals being generated in both the
House and Senate, will remain for another
six months (until March 31).
While the latest news is good for programs which benefit bike and pedestrian trails-including Transportation
Enhancements (TE) and the Recreational
Trails Program (RTP)-the outlook for the
future isn't so bright. The current mood on
Capitol Hill is to support " consolidation "
of repetitive or ineffective programs as
well as provide states and locales with increased " flexibility " in how they utilize
their federal transportation funding. Further, at current spending levels the Highway Trust Fund (the revenue source for
highway, mass transit, and recreational
trails programs) is expected to be exhausted by early 2013. Revenue for the
Trust Fund is generated by the 18.4 cent/
gallon federal gas tax, which was also
renewed as part of the six-month extension and has remained at the same exact
amount since 1993.
Genera l ly spea k i ng, bi ke a nd

46 Parks & Recreation O C T O B E R

pedestrian trails projects face greater
competition for limited funds. The current
10 percent set-aside for TE is certainly at
risk, as is the dedicated funding for RTP.
Obviously, there is plenty at stake and
the House and Senate are currently far
apart on agreement for a full reauthorization. The additional six months Congress
has bought themselves for negotiations
shouldn't be viewed as a long-term victory and it remains extremely important
to reach out to your elected leaders in
Washington and share the value that programs such as TE and RTP provide their
states and local communities.

of New Jersey, remains a focus of -N RPA's
advocacy efforts. The bill directing federal resources to parks and recreation
projects in urban and metropolitan communities will have difficulty passing
this session of Congress given the current fiscal climate and attitude toward
new spending programs. However, the
bill does have bi-partisan support in the
House. Several different Senate offices
have expressed an interest in introducing a companion bill in the Senate, and
NRPA public policy staff are working to
raise the profile of this issue on and off
of the Hill.

Urban Parks and Livable
Communities

Children and Nature

The draft version of the House Transportation Housing and Urban Development
appropriations bill would fund the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
program at $3.5 billion in FY12. This represents a roughly $200 million increase
over FY11 funding. While still significantly less than the $4.45 billion the program
received in FY10, an increase during
these very difficult economic times is a
welcome surprise and perhaps a sign that
the U.S Congress recognizes the valuable role that community development
and local projects play in rebuilding our
economy. According to the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, roughly $100 million of CDBG funds are utilized
annually for parks and recreation projects
at the local level.
Other programs focused on urban
communities will face a tougher road in
the FY12 budget process. Programs such
as the federal partnership for Sustainable
Communities and HUD's Choice Neighborhood initiative will be likely targets for
severe cuts or elimination in the upcoming budget decisions. Both programs offer opportunities for parks and recreation
agencies to partner with other sectors for
comprehensive projects in urban and economically distressed communities.
The Urban Revitalization and Livable
Communities Act (URLC; H.R. 709), introduced by Representative Albio Sires

2 0 1 1 w w w . N R P A . O R G

Two pieces of legislation, the No Child
Left Inside (NCLI) and the Healthy Kids
Outdoors Act (HKOA), represent efforts
at reconnecting children with nature and
getting them active and outdoors. NCLI
has been reintroduced in the House (HR
2547) and Senate (S. 1372) and aims
amend the current education act (No
Child Left Behind/NCLB) to include environmental education. NRPA is actively
working to strengthen NCLI by ensuring
parks and recreation agencies are full
and eligible funding partners for each
of the bill's grant programs-parks and
recreation are currently only eligible for
funding under the measure's Environmental Education Grant Program.
HKOA, which is expected to be reintroduced this fall, seeks to address the
challenge of childhood health by incentivizing states to develop and implement
innovative strategies to reconnect youth
and their families with the natural world.
Parks and recreation agencies would be
eligible for funding by partnering with
other public entities.
These measures currently suffer from
a lack of true bi-partisan support, due in
large part to the existing political climate
which makes a reauthorization of NCLB
unlikely to occur this year.

Health and Wellness
A great deal of uncertainty surrounds
what w i l l happen w ith hea lth a nd

October 2011 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2011 - Parks & Recreation