THE AMERICAN HERITAGE TRUST

The proposed American Heritage Trust (H.R. 876 in the House of Representatives; S. 370 in the U.S. Senate) would combine the existing Land and Water Conservation Fund, Historic Preservation Fund and Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program into a national trust that, over time, would become self-sustaining. An endowed trust, with annual opportunity for congressional review, would capture a small portion of the value of revenue now earned from a depleting resource. - oil and gas revenues from the outer continental shelf - and pass it back to the American people.

Instead of creating unnecessary new programs or authorizing new funding, this proposal would simply ensure a return to the principle of natural resource reinvestment originally promised for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

THE TRUST WOULD:

* Create permanent trust status for LWCF, with principal amounts that cannot be used for other purposes.

* Require the Secretary of the Treasury to invest previously authorized but still unappropriated balances for the LWCF and HPF into interest-paying public debt securities.

* Make available all interest accrued on investments in the next fiscal year, subject to congressional obligation limits, along with any portions of annual deposits considered necessary. Income not appropriated within a year would become a permanent part of the trust.

* Annual LWCF appropriations from the trust would be distributed by formula; at least 30 percent for state and local grants; at least 30 percent for Federal land acquisitions; 10 percent for special matching monies to encourage creation of state heritage trusts; and 10 percent for urban parks restoration. Special LWCF assistance would be available for a limited time to help counties and other localities prepare recreation resource plans and to protect high priority areas identified in such plans.

The states would evaluate and make final decisions on state and local applications. The Congress would annually review and decide on federal land acquisition, as it does today.

H.R. 876 has over 200 cosponsors, while S. 370 has 40. These bills have strong bipartisan support in Congress. Testimony in 1988 and 1989 hearings on the House bill was overwhelming in support. State and local officials, along with more than 50 recreation, historic preservation, conservation and state and local government organizations endorse the AHT concept.

The Congressional Budget Office and Office of Management and Budget have reported that creating the trust would have no effect on the Federal budget deficit. The trust itself creates no new parks at any level, and such actions remain separate from the budget process, as they are today.

Annual interest payments on the trust would have a net budgetary impact, but a gradual one, ranging from $300 million in the first year to as much as $750 million in year nine. This would basically restore the LWCF and HPF appropriations to the levels of the late 1970s, still far short of immediate and long-term national needs.

The American Heritage Trust initiative, proposed by U.S. Rep. Morris Udall, D-Ariz., and U.S. Sen. John Chafee, R-R.L, will reaffirm national commitments to the conservation of recreation and historic resources that were made 25 years ago. We believe this is one of the most critical social and environmental bills of the 1990s.

STATUS:

H.R. 876 was reported by House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs on July 17 (H. Rpt. 101-148) with a favorable recommendation; 223 representatives cosponsor H.R. 876. Opposition from members of House Appropriations Committee blocked further consideration in this Congress.

Forty-one senators cosponsor S. 370. No further action is anticipated in this Congress.

The National Recreation and Park Association is making passage of The American Heritage Trust Act its highest legislative priority for the 102nd Congress when it convenes in January 1991.