A U.S. House committee on Wednesday advanced abill to permanently and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, would make $900 million available for expenditure annually.
The LWCF uses royalties from offshore oil and gas development to buy lands and make them public, and to fund other outdoor amenities, like fishing access sites along the Missouri River in Montana.
Though the fund itself has been around since 1965 and was reauthorized permanently earlier this year, Congress regularly fails to earmark its full authorized amount.
A companion bill in the Senate is awaiting a hearing in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
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