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1 1 (November 19, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdcsh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: \ Q The Great American Outdoors Act, P.L. 116-152 The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA; P.L. 116-152) established a new fund with mandatory spending authority to address deferred maintenance needs of five federal agencies. The law also made available the deposits to an existing fund-the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)-as mandatory spending and made other changes to the LWCF Act (54 U.S.C. §200301 et seq.). This In Focus addresses selected provisions of the law. NatiounalPak and PulcLand Legacy The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service (FS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) maintain thousands of diverse assets, such as roads andbuildings. Each agency has a backlog of deferred maintenance (DM), defined as maintenance not performed as needed andputoff for a future time. For FY2018, the backlog for NPS was reported at $11.9 billion, FS at $5.2 billion, FWS at $1.3 billion, and BLM at $1.0 billion. Additionally, the Department of the Interior (DOI) reported DM of $1.8 billion for Indian Affairs, including the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). For all the agencies except BIE, a major portion of DM is in transportation assets. In the pas t, most funding for agency DM has come from discretionary appropriations. The agencies also have mandatory spending authorities, including transportation maintenance funding under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (P.L.114-94), entrance andrecreation fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. §6801-6814), and others. The GAOA established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) with mandatory appropriations to address DM for the five agencies (NPS, FS, FW S, BLM, and BIE). The fund is to receive annual deposits forFY2021-FY2025 of 50% of all federalenergy revenues (fromoil, gas,coal, orrenewable energy) credited in the preceding fiscalyear as miscellaneous receipts to the Treasury,up to a cap of $1.9 billion annually. The law states that it would not affect the dispositionofenergy revenues due to states, trust funds, or special funds (such as the LW CF or the Historic Preservation Fund, 54 U.S.C. § 303102) and that it would not affectrevenues that have been otherwise appropriated under federal law-for example, under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA; 43 U.S.C. § 1331 note) or the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. §191). Whether deposits to the LRF will reach the $1.9 billion cap in each year is uncertain. The energy revenues deposited as miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury would have to total $3.8 billion in agiven year to yield $1.9 billion for the fund. DOI revenuedisbursement data show that, for FY2010-FY2019, comparable Treasury miscellaneous receipts ranged annually from$2.2 billion to $8.2 billion. These revenues came primarily from offshore oil and gas leasing. Future revenues are uncertain and would depend on many factors. For example, energy revenues for FY2020 (deposited to the LRF in FY2021) could be affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Of the amounts deposited in the fund each year, NPS is to receive a70% share, FS 15%, FWS 5%, BLM 5%, and BIE 5% for its schools. The agencies mustuse the funding for priority deferred maintenance projects. Atleast65% of each agency's funds are for non-transportation projects. The GAOA directs the President to submit lists of priority DM projects to Congress with annual budgetjustifications and separately directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, within 90 d ays of enactment, to submit lists of priority projects that are ready to implement with FY2021 funding. The law specifies that appropriations acts may provide an alternate allocation under the percentages defined for each agency. If Congress does not enact an alternate allocation by the date of enactment of full-year appropriations for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (orifCongress allocates less thanthe full amount), the President is to allocate amounts. It is unclear if the President must allocate the funds in accordance with the priorities specified in the budget submis sion. On November 2, 2020, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture submitted FY2021 DM project lists as required within 90 days ofenactment. On November 10,2020, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released a draft explanatory s tatement for FY2021 Interior appropriations, directing the Secretaries to modify their lists to provide specific project information, including es timated co sts by project, as soon as possible. Full-year appropriations for FY2021 for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies have not been enacted as of November 18, 2020. Land and Wat~er Cnevto Fund Under the LW CF Act, $900 million is deposited annually into the LW CF. Nealy all of therevenue is derived fromoil and gas leasing offshoe. Prior to P.L. 116-152, the money had been available only if appropriated in subsequent law and thus was considered discretionary spending. The annual appropriations generally were less than $900 million, resulting in an unappropriatedbalance of $22.1 billion through FY2019. The LW CF Act sets out authorized purposes of the fund relating to federal land acquisition and outdoor recreation grants to states. Appropriations also have been provided for otherprograms. The LWCF Act requires the President's Updated November 19, 2020

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