Congress approves billions for US national parks in rare bipartisan push

Great American Outdoors Act allocates $9.5bn over the next five years for previously neglected park maintenance

The US Congress has approved a sweeping, long-awaited bill to continuously fund national, state and local parks - a major boon to conservation and one of the few pieces of significant legislation the government has been able to agree on in a divisive election year.

The Great American Outdoors Act, passed on Wednesday afternoon, allocates $9.5bn over the next five years for previously neglected park repairs. And it sets up $900m a year to acquire land for conservation and continue maintenance.