For the third time in a little more than a year, senators have introduced legislation aimed at addressing the staggering maintenance backlog across the National Park System. The latest bipartisan effort, which could cover more than half of the nearly $12 billion in backlogged work, pulls aspects from the previous two measures that have failed to gain traction.
In the wake of the National Park Service Legacy Act introduced in March 2017 by Senators Rob Portman (R) of Ohio and Mark Warner (D) of Virginia and the National Park Restoration Act introduced by Senator Lamar Alexander (R) and Congressman Mike Simpson (R) this past March, Sens. Portman, Warner, Alexander, and Angus King (I) on Friday introduced the Restore Our Parks Act. In addition to thse four senators, Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R) of West Virginia and Cory Gardner (R) of Colorado signed on as cosponsors.
The measure, which currently lacks a House companion, takes a more aggressive approach than the previous two to make progress on reducing the maintenance backlog. The Portman-Warner bill called for annual appropriations from Congress, over a three-decade period, to cut down the backlog. The Alexander-Simpson bill is the de facto Trump administration proposal to create a fund of up to $18 billion from revenues derived from on- and offshore energy development to pay for the work.
The Restore Our Parks Act would establish the “National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund” to reduce the maintenance backlog by allocating existing revenues the government receives from on and offshore energy development. The $6.5 billion in funding envisioned by the legislation would come from 50 percent of all revenues that are not otherwise allocated and deposited into the General Treasury, not to exceed $1.3 billion each year for the next five years.
The difference between the Restore Our Parks Act funding stream and that called for in the Alexander-Simpson measure is the latest legislation would tap existing revenues coming in from energy development, and not rely on royalties from new energy development, something that drew criticism when the Alexander-Simpson bill first was introduced.
On Friday, the senators pointed to deferred maintenance needs in the park system, from nearly $75 million in the eight park units in Ohio to the more than a billion dollars in backlogged work in parks in Virginia, in promoting their legislation.
"Virginia now ranks third among all states in total deferred maintenance, trailing only California and the District of Columbia," said Sen. Warner. "The longer we wait to address the crumbling infrastructure in our national parks, the worse the problem gets. Today’s introduction marks a step forward in the process of finally fixing the $12 billion maintenance backlog at our national parks. I will continue to work with my colleagues to get this bill passed so that we can make much-needed investments in national treasures like Shenandoah National Park, which has nearly $80 million in overdue maintenance needs."
Sen. Alexander praised Sens. Portman and Warner for developing the latest measure, and predicted that it "should have near unanimous support."
"The end result is $6.5 billion toward eliminating the national park maintenance backlog, $215 million of which is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” said Sen. Alexander.
At The Pew Charitable Trusts, which has been working to build support to erase the maintenance backlog, Marcia Argust pointed to the bipartisan backing of the latest legislation.
“Fixing our national parks is nonpartisan, as this compromise bill proves,” said Ms. Argust, who direct's Pew’s Restore America’s Parks Project. “Lawmakers are listening to the nearly 3,000 organizations that are calling on Congress to protect our parks and preserve local economies by enacting legislation to address the national park maintenance backlog, including repairs to historic buildings, trails, and campgrounds.”
At the National Parks Conservation Association, President and CEO Theresa Pierno commended the "leadership of these park champions for their bill that makes a strong investment in our parks that they desperately need and deserve. America’s national parks include our most treasured landscapes and historic and cultural sites that must be protected and maintained so that future generations have the opportunity to learn about the people and places that have shaped our nation’s legacy.”
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the legislation could make significant inroads in improving the national park experience for visitors.
“Park infrastructure is about access for all Americans," he said. "In order for families, children, elderly grandparents, or persons with disabilities to enjoy the parks, we need to rebuild basic infrastructure like roads, trails, lodges, restrooms and visitor centers. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is an American issue, and I think that the bipartisan body of lawmakers who put this bill forward is proof. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the administration and Congress to see this come to fruition.”
To learn more about the maintenance backlog, please read the following articles:
Traveler Special Report: Closing The National Park System's Maintenance Backlog
Traveler Special Report: Some Friends Groups Asked To Provide "Margin Of Survival"
Traveler Special Report: Maintenance Woes Blocking Access To Parts Of National Park System
Traveler Special Report: Historic Sites And Structures Affected By Maintenance Backlog
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Comments
Let us hope this bill passes and becomes law. I am not optimistic. After 18 months we still do not have a Director to lead the NPS and fight for monies. The failure of the administration to appoint a Director is scandalous. Why not appoint Dan Wenk as Director. I understand he is currently free.
I suggest that any subsequent appropriations to reduce the "backlog" be contingent upon the complete elimination of all entrance and backcountry camping fees that were enacted under the guise of reducing the backlog. After all, if taxpayer monies are used to fund taxpayer lands, then taxpayers should not be expected to pay a THIRD time. Hear us Lamar Alexander and all others. People are fed up with triple taxation schemes without removing the toll road you promised to remove.
But overnight, Republicans found $12 billion to compensate farmers in Trump's trade war. That $12 billion could pay for all of the maintenance backlog. But Bishop of Utah will block anything in the House regardless of whether this gets out of the Senate.
Face it, the Republican party is the enemy of public lands and our national parks.
Face it, the Republican party is the enemy of far, far more than just our lands and parks.
Here's one more example: Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican from Georgia has introduced a bill that has the potential to almost completely gut protections for whistleblowers with
H.R. 559, to establish an alternative mechanism for the expedited removal by agency heads of federal employees for performance or misconduct by limiting an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to appeals made not later than 7 days after the date of such removal; and making inapplicable to removals employee protections affording employees at least 30 days advance written notice of the proposed action and a reasonable time to answer the proposal orally and in writing, representation by an attorney, and a written decision.