"A Democratic-backed package that would set aside 1.3 million acres of public lands in California, Colorado, and Washington state as protected wilderness areas passed the House Wednesday largely along party lines.

The Protecting America’s Wilderness Act by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) (H.R. 2546) passed the House 231-183 after debate on more than a dozen amendments on the floor. The legislation also would add nearly 1,000 miles of U.S. rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems.

The bill faces several obstacles to becoming law, including a White House veto threat issued Monday that warned the bill could “impede future energy and mineral development, including development that is important to the economic and national security” of the U.S.

The House-passed bill also covers broader swaths of land than competing proposals in the Republican-controlled Senate that have moved through its Energy and Natural Resources Committee this Congress."

Dean Scott reports for Bloomberg Environment February 12, 2020. [2]