The Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act will be on the House floor for a vote this week, potentially even as early as today, April 9, reported the RV Industry Association (RVIA).
The EXPLORE Act is historically significant as it is the first-ever outdoor recreation specific bill package and does not cost taxpayer dollars.
The bipartisan legislation will boost local and national economies; give more Americans – especially those in underserved areas – greater access to green spaces and public lands and waters; and modernizing policies and procedures to support the recreation businesses that connect people to outdoor experiences.
The package combines dozens of bipartisan and bicameral bills the outdoor recreation industry has long supported including the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act, the Outdoor Recreation Act, the Recreation Not Red Tape Act and other pragmatic provisions that support jobs in rural communities, increase access to the outdoors for more Americans.
It is a companion to a similar package passed in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year, America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA).
The outdoor recreation industry, recently valued at $1 trillion, was instrumental in passing the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020, which was one of the greatest public lands and waters packages to become law in the history of our nation. The EXPLORE Act/AORA builds on that momentum and would be the first-ever outdoor recreation specific bill package and does not cost taxpayer dollars.
