During Advocacy Day, June 8, RVIA presented Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) with the RVIA’s National Legislative Award. The award recognizes an individual who distinguished themselves in legislative matters pertaining to the RV industry.
“Sen. Manchin recognizes that investments in outdoor recreation are vital to our economic, emotional, and societal well-being,” said Craig Kirby, RVIA president and CEO. “His home state sports stunning public lands that bring tourists from around the nation. It is appropriate that Sen. Manchin be recognized as RV Industry Association’s 2022 National Legislative Award recipient.”
As Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which oversees the Interior Department and National Park Service, Manchin has been a staunch supporter of outdoor recreation and a champion of the American-made RV industry, RVIA said.
Manchin supported passing the Great American Outdoors Act to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and provide over $9 billion to address maintenance backlog on public lands.
For every dollar Congress invests in national parks, RVIA said $10 is returned to the U.S. economy.
Manchin also secured funding in last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill for national park and forest service recreation sites and campgrounds.
Currently, Manchin is working with Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), RVIA, the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable and other outdoor stakeholders on an outdoor recreation package. The America’s Outdoor Recreation Act is aimed at advancing campground modernization and expansion on federal lands and at private campgrounds within gateway communities.
