Neguse passes CORE Act through House for a fourth time

The office of U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse on Thursday issued the following press release on passing the CORE Act through the House for the fourth time:

Washington D.C. —Today, Congressman Joe Neguse, Chair of the U.S. Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands passed an amendment through the U.S. House of Representatives which would add the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act as well as the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amendment was cosponsored by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva, lead sponsor of the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act. 

View Congressman Neguse’s remarks on the House floor in support of this amendment HERE. 

Earlier this month, Congressman Neguse was successful in adding protections for the Thompson Divide—a component of the CORE Act —to the Build Back Better Act.

 
“The CORE Act is carefully-crafted, locally-negotiated legislation written by Coloradans for Colorado. The bill would provide transformational investments in our public lands, and our outdoor recreation economy and honor our state’s military legacy through the designation of a National Historic Landscape at Camp Hale,” said Congressman Joe Neguse, Chair of the U.S. Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. “We are committed to getting this bill signed into law and delivering for the people of Colorado. We will take any opportunity we can to get this done.”

“For more than a decade, Coloradans have worked together to hammer out the details of the CORE Act to protect some of our most cherished public lands and bolster our economy,” said Senator Bennet. “I’m grateful to Congressman Neguse for his tireless work to pass the CORE Act over and over again in the House. Coloradans have waited long enough –– I’ll work with Senator Hickenlooper to do everything we can to get it across the finish line in the Senate.”

“The Colorado-grown CORE Act is moving full steam ahead. Representative Neguse moved it through the House, and now Senator Bennet and I will fight to get it across the finish line,” said Senator Hickenlooper. 

Congressman Joe Neguse has passed the CORE Act through the House with bipartisan support four times now, twice as standalone legislation and once last year as an amendment to the 2020 NDAA.  The CORE would create the first-of-its-kind National Historic Landscape at Camp Hale to honor the 10th Mountain Army Division and the legacy of Sandy Treat, a local WWII veteran, with an overlook named in his honor. As a result, the bill’s inclusion in the NDAA makes perfect sense, follows past precedent and will give the Senate another chance to take up this locally-driven bill. 

The Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act was carefully crafted by Coloradans over the last 10 years, and each of the provisions in the bill have been considered and are supported by the local communities they would impact. The bill would preserve approximately 400,000 acres of public land in Colorado. Of the land to be protected, about 73,000 acres are new wilderness areas, and nearly 80,000 acres are new recreation and conservation management areas that preserve existing outdoor uses, such as hiking and mountain biking. 

The CORE Act is supported by a majority of the Colorado delegation, the counties of Summit, Eagle, San Juan, Ouray, San Miguel, Gunnison and Pitkin, the cities of Glenwood Springs and Carbondale, and the towns of Ridgway, Crested Butte, Ophir, Telluride and Basalt.

A full list of quotes from stakeholders is available HERE.

The following resources for the CORE Act are available below:

• CORE Act Summary
• Stakeholder Quotes of Support
• B-Roll and Photos for Press

Learn more at Neguse.House.Gov/the-core-act.