Senate Committee Passes Outdoor Recreation Package

This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2022, the first comprehensive recreation package since 1963 that will improve and expand America’s outdoor recreation economy while delivering sustainable economic boosts to rural communities.

The RV Industry Association government affairs team continues to be one of the leading advocates to ensure Federal campgrounds are repaired, reopened, expanded, and modernized to accommodate the current and next generation of park stewards and recreationalist. America’s Outdoor Recreation Act will go a long way in making these sustainable improvements to federal campgrounds and improve the experiences of current and future RVers. The most desired improvements are longer and wider sites, additional RV hookups (electric, water, sewer), improvement of the day-to-day upkeep of campgrounds, ability to accommodate EV and other future technologies, cell/Wi-Fi service for safety purposes and to access reservations and rentals, and more “RV-friendly” campsites to accommodate the overwhelming demand.

“The RV Industry Association strongly supports this bill and has advocated for its passage because we know that access to the outdoors, along with safe and adequate campground inventory, must keep pace with the overwhelming demand from the American people,” said RV Industry Association Director of Federal Affairs Chris Bornemann. “America’s Outdoor Recreation Act of 2022 recognizes this demand and takes crucial steps to address it by modernizing campgrounds, improving outdated recreation policy, and ensuring all Americans have the opportunity to enjoy the many benefits of living a healthy active outdoor lifestyle.”

Importantly, the bill provides gateway community assistance for outdoor recreation businesses and campgrounds, responsibly extends shoulder seasons, and brings much needed broadband to front country campgrounds to address safety issues and provide technologies that current and future park visitors require.

The RV Industry Association also advocated for the legislation’s establishment of a pilot program for public-private partnership agreements to modernize campgrounds on federal lands. These partnerships are a sensible, proven way to bring public land infrastructure into the 21st century, ensuring the federal government remains the owner of all public lands and preserving access and enjoyment of federal campgrounds for current and future generations of RVers to come.

View the full text of the bill here, a one-page summary here and a section- by-section summary here.