Vice Chair Haaland Passes Three Bills Out of Committee

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01), Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, passed three priority bills out of committee. The SOAR Act, Native American Business Incubators Program Act, and Land Grant and Acequia Traditional Use Recognition and Consultation Act all cleared the House Natural Resources Committee markup and are now one step closer to becoming law.

"As New Mexicans, we know we have to bolster our economy every chance we get, but there are barriers in the way for outdoor recreation groups, Native owned businesses, and use of our traditional resources. By passing these bills out of committee, we're one step closer to making permitting work better for outdoor recreation businesses, providing support for Native entrepreneurs, and ensuring farmers and ranchers who rely on acequias have access to those waters into the future," said Congresswoman Deb Haaland, Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.

In July of 2019, Haaland introduced the bipartisan Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation Act (SOAR) Act, H.R. 3879, to expand access to public lands and boost the outdoor recreation economy by updating the procedures for issuing special recreation permits for certain public land units, and for other purposes. Congresswoman Haaland serves as Vice Chair of the Committee on Natural Resources and Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.

Haaland is the U.S. House lead on the Native American Business Incubators Program Act that would increase access to capital for business investment and growth through three-year grants to business incubators with ties to tribal communities, education institutions, and other organizations to expand assistance to a broad range of business sectors and incubation methods. The Senate bill passed committee earlier today.

The Land Grant and Acequia Traditional Use Recognition and Consultation Act recognizes how land grants and acequias depend on community care and resources, while also ensuring that the federal government recognizes the importance of these water resources in New Mexico.

Haaland continues to fight for the needs of New Mexico, Native Nations and New Mexico's traditional communities. Last week, she voted to pass the Great American Outdoors Act, which provides guaranteed full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and funding to address the maintenance backlog at our National Parks and on other public lands. As Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Haaland worked with her colleagues on the committee and House leadership to shepherd the package through committee and now on to the President's desk. The two programs are critical to Haaland's efforts to create good paying jobs in outdoor recreation and restoration economies at a critical time of economic recovery.

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