February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 21
home and a litany of downstream
impacts from federal programs
pausing operations.
To avoid this, Congress commonly
passes a " continuing resolution, "
or CR, as an interim measure to
keep the lights on at federal agencies
while legislative compromises
are made. Currently, Congress is
operating on a continuing resolution
that expires on March 14.
Spending levels were a major focus
on the campaign trail, with Republicans
focused on making reductions
to address the federal deficit and to
cut programs viewed as wasteful. In
addition to campaign rhetoric, President
Trump set up a new advisory
council led by Elon Musk and Vivek
Ramaswamy to support this mission,
and congressional allies have
set up mirrored efforts.
While there is new political momentum
on this issue, talking about
cutting funding is far easier than
carrying it out in practice. Many
federal programs are very popular
among lawmakers and their constituents,
and spending bills will require
Democratic support in the Senate
for passage. Fiscally conservative Republicans
will aim to navigate these
challenges and seize on the opportunity
to enact cuts where possible.
The annual spending bills are
key measures for parks and recreation
because they determine
the amount of funding allocated
to Land and Water Conservation
Fund subprograms, green
infrastructure
programs, and health and
wellness-related programs.
The past several years of spending
bills have contained community
project funding measures, also
known as
earmarks, which are
provisions sending money directly
to projects back home as requested
by a member, rather than passing
through the traditional federal
agency process. At the time of this
writing, it is not clear whether earmarks
could be on the chopping
block in the 119th Congress, but
this is an area to watch.
Reauthorizing Programs
in the Farm Bill
Every five years, Congress aims
to pass a version of the farm bill,
legislation that authorizes federal
programs at the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. With the previous
farm bill that passed in 2018, Congress
aimed to take on this priority
during the past two years but has
ultimately passed the buck to 2025.
The most important of these programs
for park and recreation professionals
is the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP). In past
farm bills, Democrats have been supportive
of maintaining current levels
or increasing funding to SNAP, and
Republicans have occasionally made
efforts to cut the program. This has
been one factor leading to gridlock in
negotiations, and Republicans' new
majority will lend them additional
leverage to pass a bill in line with
their priorities this year.
Tariff and Tax Actions
On the campaign trail, President
Trump often discussed tariffs as a
cornerstone of his economic policy
platform, promising to leverage
the tool against the United States'
leading trading partners - Canada,
China and Mexico. This was
a feature of the first Trump term,
when he enacted sweeping tariffs on
China and used the threat of tariffs
against Canada and Mexico as a negotiating
tool in the crafting of the
U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement -
the successor to the previous North
American Free Trade Agreement.
At the time of this writing, the
specifics
of the administration's
plans on tariffs are not known,
but if sweeping tariffs are enacted,
there could be increases to equipment
procurement,
construction
and related costs that local park
and recreation agencies incur.
While the executive branch oversees
most decisions on tariffs, the
Trump administration and Congress
will need to work closely together
to address their tax policy
priorities. Many provisions of the
Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
(TCJA) expire between 2025 and
2028. Trump and his team have
stated that they will consider using
a new tax package in 2025 to extend
several components of the TCJA,
exempt various types of income
from being taxed, and repeal certain
green energy tax credits created under
the Inflation Reduction Act.
Republicans may seek to craft
this package using an arcane process,
called
" budget reconciliation, "
which bypasses the need
for bipartisan compromise in the
Senate, requiring only a simple majority
of 50 votes for passage. Democrats
leveraged this tool to pass
legislation in the 117th Congress,
and Republicans' ability to follow
suit will be a big decider in how
ambitious they can be in passing
major parts of their platform.
Elections mean new leaders and
new priorities in Washington. The
NRPA team is prepared to watch,
decipher and navigate the policymaking
process in 2025 and in the
years to come.
Kyle Simpson is NRPA's Director of
Government Affairs (ksimpson@nrpa.org).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | FEBR U AR Y 2 0 2 5 | Parks & Recreation
21
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2025 – Parks & Recreation
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Intro
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover1
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover2
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 1
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 2
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 3
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 4
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 5
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 6
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 7
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 8
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 9
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 10
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 11
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 12
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 13
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 14
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 15
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 16
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 17
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 18
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 19
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 20
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 21
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 22
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 23
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 24
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 25
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 26
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 27
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 28
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 29
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 30
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 31
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 32
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 33
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 34
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 35
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 36
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 37
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 38
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 39
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 40
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 41
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 42
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 43
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 44
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 45
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 46
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 47
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 48
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 49
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 50
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 51
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 52
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 53
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 54
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 55
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - 56
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover3
February 2025 – Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2025
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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