House Passes Public Lands Bill Gianforte Refused to Co-Sponsor, in Support of the Full Funding He’s Opposed His Entire Career

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 22, 2020

House Passes Public Lands Bill Gianforte Refused to Co-Sponsor, in Support of the Full Funding He’s Opposed His Entire Career

Helena, MT – Today, the House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act, legislation to provide full and permanent funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Leading up to the vote, the bill gained significant bipartisan momentum – 247 members of Congress signed on, including 35 Republicans. Still, Greg Gianforte – a long time opponent of full and permanent LWCF funding – refused to cosponsor the bill.

Now that the bill has passed, Gianforte will inevitably try to take credit — despite his repeated critiques of LWCF. But no vote will erase Gianforte’s lifelong, atrocious public lands record.

Just today, Gianforte said he was “pleased” by federal appointments like William Perry Pendley, who supports the sale and transfer of all public lands and touts an “ideology that pose[s] a monumental threat to us and America’s public land.” Gianforte sued Montana taxpayers to block stream access nearby one of his several properties. He supports the transfer of management of federal land, and he wrote legislation to remove protections for nearly 700,000 acres of public lands – without public input – a move described by conservation advocates as potentially “the single biggest rollback of protected public lands in Montana history.”

“Once again, Greg Gianforte revealed his true, anti-public lands colors to Montanans,” said MDP Deputy Communications Director Matt Fidel. “This legislation was supported by overwhelming majorities of Democrats and Republicans – Gianforte should have been out front, leading on this bill from day one. Instead, he reminded Montanans – once again – that he simply can’t be trusted to stand up for public lands access when it matters most.”

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