Rep. Jerry Carl announced that he had cosponsored bipartisan legislation to give veterans and Gold Star families lifetime free access to national parks, ALreporter.com reported. The bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously.
“Our service members and Gold Star Families have paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe and secure, so it’s critical we do everything we can to support them and show them our gratitude,” Carl stated. “I’m proud to support this bipartisan legislation to provide free annual America the Beautiful passes to current military service members, veterans, and Gold Star Families so they can gain free access to all our national parks and public lands.”
The Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act is led by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Ruben Gallego. The Act aims to recognize that our active-duty service members, veterans, and Gold Star Families should be treated like VIPs in national parks and on our public lands. In 2020, the Trump administration made America the Beautiful passes free for all veterans and Gold Star families. By passing this law, it will continue the benefit. The Pass provides access to over 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges. The act will convert those passes into lifetime passes. It will also create annual passes for active-duty military members that can be converted into lifetime passes once they leave the military.
Gallego commented on Twitter, “Today, the House passed my and @RepMMM’s Veterans in Parks Act, a bill to provide veterans & Gold Star families with free lifetime passes to federal public lands and national parks. Our veterans fought to protect these lands – they should be able to enjoy them too.”
