After almost three years and nine extensions, the House and Senate have finally struck a deal that will likely result in Congress passing a bill by this Saturday – the day the bill is set to expire. Unfortunately, many of the carefully crafted bi-partisan reforms and compromises included in the Senate passed bill (S. 1318 or MAP-21) have been removed.  Read what this deal means for parks and recreation. Read more

Nearly 20 million children receive free or reduced-priced lunches at school each year. However, during the summer months fewer than 3 million children partake in free summer lunch. This is a gap of more than 16 million kids who can receive a free healthy lunch each day school is out, but don’t. Why is this? Read this moving blog by NRPA's Jimmy O'Connor on how park and recreation agencies are serving to fill this gap this summer, helping improve lives and communities. Read more

Wondering what is going on with Surface Transportation on Capitol Hill this week? VP of Government Affairs Stacey Pine breaks it all down and outlines what another extension may mean and how the current debate between the House and Senate could have implications for park and recreation agencies.  Read more

Read why one Young Professional recommends that young park and recreation professionals should apply for the NRPA Young Professional Fellowship and other scholarship opportunities to further their professional development and career. Read more

Park and recreation agencies, like many other local government agencies, have benefitted from federal earmarks.   But the federal earmark ban that took effect two years ago has made it difficult local governments to fund  many local projects, such as park and recreation projects.   Discussions on the Hill, now have many wondering whether earmarks are truly dead. Read the latest from NRPA's Public Policy team to learn more about this issue. Read more