OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Lets Fix Our Parks, Not Add More

Floor Speech

Date: July 8, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Arts, Entertainment, and History

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express concern about continued acquisition of private lands by the Federal Government.

The Federal Government currently owns about 30 percent of the land in our country but is unable to properly maintain this land, as evidenced by the Park Service's staggering $11.5 billion backlog of maintenance projects, yet the Federal Government continues to spend limited taxpayer dollars and resources on more land. For example, many of my constituents are facing a push by the government to take over historically private land.

A June 30 New York Times article, entitled, ``Let's Fix Our Parks, Not Add More,'' further illustrates the scope of this problem, criticizing the administration's decision to add seven new parks to the system.

I urge my colleagues to oppose future land purchases and instead focus the Interior Department's attention on properly maintaining existing Federal lands to ensure access for generations to come.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward