NPS Appropriations: Increases Sought

As has been well-noted here and across the country, the National Park Service is struggling with insufficient funding. While NPS Director Fran Mainella is keeping a stiff upper lip, telling the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, earlier this month that her agency will somehow get by with the president's less-than-sufficient $2.16 billion FY2007 budget proposal, others are calling for more funds.
Specifically, Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyoming, and Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana, have written members of their respective Appropriations Committees asking for an extra $150 million for the "operations" category of the Park Service's budget. Of course, that's not enough to help set the agency on the road to financial recovery, but it will stanch some of the bleeding.
For a recap on the Park Service's fiscal plight, check out the story that the National Journal ran out yesterday.