The Army Corps of Engineers could reinvest recreation fees at the park it collects them at under new legislation. On Thursday, Feb. 28, Sens. John Boozman (R-AR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the the Corps of Engineers Recreation Improvement Act (S. 400), which you can read about at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d113:1:./temp/~bdOIGz:@@@X|/home/LegislativeData.php|.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works..
The bill would amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to include the Corps of Engineers as a federal land management agency.
As Boozman explained on the Senate floor while introducing the measure, “our bill creates an incentive for the corps to maintain good facilities and provide quality recreational opportunities on our public lands. The corps currently collects recreation fees at many sites.”
While the corps can charge recreation fees, it cannot charge entrance fees to parks. The bill would not change that but would allow the corps to participate in the America the Beautiful pass program that would allow park visitors an alternate method of payment besides user fees. And the bill would allow the corps to distribute Military Passes to members of the armed services. While the corps can honor those passes, under current law, it cannot distribute them.
Comments