Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. ZINKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6429, the EXPLORE Act, for a lot of reasons.
One is that while I am from Montana, I don't have cattle or I don't have a ranch or helicopter, but I am John Dutton with a hat.
This legislation, and I am glad to see it is bipartisan because some things should be bipartisan in our country, and our public lands and outdoor experience is that.
I grew up in Montana, but things have changed. When I grew up there, there wasn't any problem with public access. There was plenty of land. There wasn't a lot of people, and you could go where you wanted.
Today, it is a lot different. A lot of people are moving in, and we have new strains on our legacy that we inherited.
I inherited a lot of what Teddy Roosevelt gave us, but it was a different time. Now, there are different strains, and we have to work to manage the next 100 years of what our experience is.
Inscribed on the Roosevelt arch which marks the entrance to Yellowstone National Park is the phrase: ``For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.'' That is the enabling act of why we have the park system we do, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.
I am proud to add to it the Gateway Communities and Recreation Enhancement Act because in order to meet this goal, there are certain provisions we need a little help with; especially in gateway communities because the gateway communities themselves are challenged in infrastructure and housing.
How do you attend to the millions of visitors when you are a small town and you rise and fall in population so dramatically?
What this bill does, it makes sure that issues such as housing, infrastructure, and park access are managed and that local communities have a say.
Sometimes Washington forgets that there are local communities outside the Beltway, and when you are in Montana or a long ways away from Washington, on issues that involve the park and involve the communities, local communities should have that say.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my all my colleagues to support this act that is bipartisan and in the best interest of this country. This should be unanimous or near unanimous. I might also add, this has been well- managed by my friend from Arkansas and the gentlewoman from New Mexico.
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