Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act (H.R. 709)

The Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act, introduced by Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) and 54 co-sponsors, would authorize $445 million to be appropriated annually for FY 2011 – FY 2021.  Funding would be provided through matching federal assistance grants and could be used by parks and recreation agencies to rehabilitate existing, and develop new, urban parks and community recreational infrastructure as well as for the continued investment in programs that improve public health, increase daily physical activity, reconnect children with nature, reduce crime, provide safe healthy alternatives for at-risk youth, encourage environmental stewardship, and foster local economic development.

Land and Water Conservation Fund

The LWCF program provides matching grants to States and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. The program is intended to create and maintain a nationwide legacy of high quality recreation areas and facilities and to stimulate non-federal investments in the protection and maintenance of recreation resources across the United States.  Since 1977, LWCF has been authorized at a level of $900 million per year, to be derived largely from Treasury receipts stemming from federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leases, and to be used for the public acquisition (federal and non-federal) of lands with outstanding natural, recreation, scenic, and other attributes, and for the development of outdoor recreation lands and facilities at the state and local level.  The fund, however, has been chronically shortchanged in the annual budget and appropriations process, leaving an unfunded LWCF balance of nearly $20 billion, a huge land protection and outdoor recreation grant backlog, and myriad landscapes where, without timely and adequate funding, key resources already have been lost forever to incompatible development.