Letter to Director Jarvis - Call for National Park Service to Conduct Agency-wide Sexual Harassment Survey

Letter

Dear Director Jarvis,

As Members of Congress dedicated to the long-term success of the National Park Service and the safety and security of its employees, we write with concern over the recent Inspector General report regarding sexual misconduct at the Grand Canyon River District.

As you are aware, the Department of the Interior's Inspector General recently released a report, which has been widely reported in the press, finding "evidence of a long-term pattern of sexual harassment and hostile work environment in the GRCA River District." The report also notes that "some of the incidents were not properly investigated or reported," a violation of Department of the Interior policies.

As the National Park Service continues to take action to correct this pattern of misconduct at the Grand Canyon River District and respond to a bipartisan letter from the Arizona House delegation, we encourage the agency to broaden the scope of its investigation to all sites managed by the National Park Service. Specifically, we recommend that the National Park Service conduct a service-wide anonymous survey of its employees to determine if there are other instances of long-term sexual harassment in the workplace. The experience of examining sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military tells us that such cases do not happen in isolation and could be indicative of wider systemic problems. An anonymous service-wide survey will provide the National Park Service with a snapshot of the scale of this problem and better inform the agency on any necessary policy changes.

Thank you for your commitment to the National Park Service and your personal interest in addressing the issues raised by the Inspector General's report.

Niki Tsongas
Ruben Gallego
Tom McClintock
Paul Gosar
Raul M. Grijalva
Matt Cartwright
Grace Napolitano
Debbie Dingell
Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Jim Costa
Alan Lowenthal
William Lacy Clay
Jared Huffman
Lois Capps
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan
Madeleine Bordallo
Jared Polis
Raul Ruiz
Pedro Pierluisi
Norma Torres