U.S. House passes bill funding conservation via drilling royalties
Source: Reuters
ENVIRONMENT FEBRUARY 26, 2019 / 7:07 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
U.S. House passes bill funding conservation via drilling royalties
Timothy Gardner
3 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Tuesday easily passed a public lands bill on Tuesday, as the Senate did earlier this month, that permanently reauthorizes a fund that has funneled billions of dollars into land conservation, paid for by revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling.
The bill passed 363-62, representing a rare moment of bipartisan agreement in Congress, with lawmakers eager to see money go to outdoors projects in their states. It permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was created by Congress in 1964 but which has occasionally been allowed to expire, most recently last September.
The Senate voted 92-8 earlier this month on the bill, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.
Each year about $900 million in royalties paid by energy companies drilling on the U.S. outer continental shelf go to the fund that pays for items from improving ball fields to expanding national parks and wildlife refuges.
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-lands/u-s-house-passes-bill-funding-conservation-via-drilling-royalties-idUSKCN1QG00F
