National Park Service Operations, Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Art, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, the little towns around Yosemite National Park depend on tourism for their economies. They're still reeling from the Yosemite Rim fire that brought tourism to a near standstill last month.

This morning, the National Park Service ordered all visitors out of the park due to the government shutdown, causing lodges and concessionaires to lay off employees and close. A local merchant tried to deliver $10,000 worth of perishable seafood to the park and was turned away. Unlike government employees, these folks don't get their backpay when the impasse is over.

The one-two punch of the Rim fire and now the closure of Yosemite National Park make this one of the most economically depressed summer seasons on record. While the Senate obviously prefers a government shutdown to negotiating with the House over ObamaCare, I hope they will at least take pity on the gateway communities of our national parks that depend on tourism for their livelihoods and expeditiously pass this bill.

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