Demo oppo to Fee Demo

[terrible_ted]

I received the following message from Congressman Jay Inslee this morning:

 

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Thank you for contacting me regarding the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program (fee demo). I appreciate hearing from you.

 

You will be pleased to know that I voted for an amendment offered by Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) that would have limited the fee demo program simply to the Park Service and excluded the National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. I am sorry to report that this common-sense amendment failed to pass the House by a vote of 184-241.

 

I am opposed to granting permanent authority for this program. I believe that public land should be just that, public, and I am concerned that fees would limit public access to these lands. Imposing fees for the use of public lands, especially considering the fact that timber and grazing subsidies are in effect, seems flat out wrong to me. We should not be discouraging anyone, let alone those who can least afford the fees, from taking advantage of the multiple uses that are available to us in our National Parks and Forests. Finally, the fee demo program places an unfair burden on locals in light of the double and regressive taxation aspects of this program.

 

I am a strong proponent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a program that can help increase recreational opportunities in our public lands. This fund was established by Congress in 1964 to create parks and open spaces, protect wilderness, wetlands and refuges, preserve habitats, and enhance recreational opportunities. The LWCF has been an amazing success and has been used effectively in our state to create and preserve open spaces and recreational areas. In our community, Kirkland's shoreline parks, Seattle's Magnuson Park, Edmonds' Sunset Beach Park, Redmond's Farrel-McWhirter Park, Poulsbo's Liberty Bay Marina, and soccer and ball fields in Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood are all examples of sites acquired and developed using the Land Water Conservation Fund program.

 

Please continue to contact me about the issues that concern you, I both need and welcome your thoughts and ideas. I encourage you to contact me via email, telephone, or fax, because security measures are causing House offices to experience delays in receiving postal mail. My email address is: Jay.Inslee@mail.house.gov. Please be sure to include your full name, address, including your zip code, in your message. If you are a resident of the First Congressional District and would like to receive policy updates and newsletters via email, please email me to let me know.

 

Very truly yours,

 

JAY INSLEE

Member of Congress

 

 

 

JRI/mt