Senator McSally Facing TV Ad Campaign Over Watered-Down Support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Progress Now Arizona launches TV ads critical of the Senator’s position
Phoenix, AZ: Progress Now Arizona is launching a new $125,000 TV ad campaign calling on Senator Martha McSally to fully support permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
The TV ads are the latest in a months-long campaign that has also included radio ads, billboards, op-eds and calls from constituents. The ads will run on cable and broadcast TV in the Phoenix media market over the next 10 days.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund, created in 1964 by Congress with bipartisan support, uses revenues from the offshore oil and gas industry to support public lands and water. Over the past 50 years, Arizona has received over $240 million from the LWCF to pay for everything from trail systems in Grand Canyon National Park to playground equipment in local parks to protections for aquifers and watersheds.
Earlier this year, Congress reauthorized the LWCF, but it failed to pass legislation to permanently fund it. S. 1081, introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Cory Gardner, would ensure that the full, authorized $900 million for LWCF is not raided by the annual appropriations process. Although McSally recently voted to advance S. 1081 out of committee, she has refused to cosponsor it, and indicated only a few weeks ago that she doesn’t support dedicated, mandatory and permanent funding for LWCF. In addition, she has failed to ask Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the bill to a vote on the Senate floor.
“Senator McSally is an avid hiker who often publicly professes her love of Arizona’s outdoor spaces. And yet her support of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which protects and preserves our public lands and water, appears to be half-hearted at best,” said Emily Kirkland, Executive Director of Progress Now Arizona. “We’re calling on her to co-sponsor S.1081 and to publicly ask Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the bill to a vote on the Senate floor. “
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Contact: Emily Kirkland, 646 623 5271, emily@progressnowarizona.org
Media Assets Available
TV Ad Clip: https://app.box.com/s/d9jf1w2gkq5e03694gwm2x5gfx5xtbxs
Progress Now Arizona is a multi-issue progressive advocacy organization that uses communications and digital organizing to promote a vision of Arizona that works for everyone. We work year-round to promote progressive issues and public policy solutions, correct misinformation and hold elected officials accountable.