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Senate Holds Fate Of National Park Service Centennial Act

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With the House of Representatives already recessed for the year, and the Senate needing to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government open after midnight Friday, the odds that the National Park Service Centennial Act with its additonal funding for the parks would die in the Senate seemed to increase as the hours ticked by.

While the House passed its version of the act on Wednesday, the Senate version was attached to a massive Energy Bill that died, reportedly due to differences with the House. 

Though it was possible that the Senate somehow could resurrect the centennial act as a stand-alone measure for action, that was not seen as likely. The chamber was caught up in a dispute over health benefits for coal miners, with Democrats threatening to block a vote on the CR to keep government in business.

"It isn't looking good. There is still a possibility that it could be offered by unanimous consent," a congressional staffer told the Traveler shortly before noon Friday when asked about the fate of the parks legislation.

As passed by the House, the National Park Service Centennial Act would increase the price of a lifetime pass for senior citizens 62 and older to $80 from its current $10 lifetime fee. Seniors who don't want to pay the $80 could purchase an annual pass for $20.

Park Service staff estimate that the increase in the cost of a senior pass would generate $20 million a year.

The legislation, drafted by U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, had bipartisan support in the House. It would deposit up to $10 million generated from all Park Service sales of America The Beautiful - The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes into a Second Century Endowment for the National Park Service to be managed by the National Park Foundation. Any revenues above $10 million would be deposited in a Centennial Challenge fund for projects in the parks. However, they would need to be matched by private dollars before they could be spent as the legislation is written.

The House version also calls for an annual appropriation of $5 million to the National Park Foundation for each of the 2017-2023 fiscal years for use as matching funds for contributions made to the foundation.

Missing from the House bill was a request from Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, to amend the bill with a requirement that Congress appropriate an additional $300 million per year for fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019 to help the Park Service address its maintenance backlog, estimated at $12 billion.

Comments

The National Parks are an unparalleled treasure  I have spent many nights in them, cherishing the experience for my family and for me   Many of those nights were spent in a tent, open to all the natural world offered me beyond d a thin skin of nylon   Unfortunately, many of those nights were also spent the beside huge recreational vehicles plugged in and humming all night from a generator.  My mornings frequently find me chatting with a senior citizen, like myself, who has come to the park with a free or low cost  pass. Seeing the size of these RV's , I know that many of these folks can pay significantly more than they do for the cost of staying in the park, but they don't because they aren't asked to pay any more.   if we asked them, would they?  I believe they would.  Would they offer to subsidize the stay of a lower-income family who might not otherwise very able to visit a park?  Perhaps- quite possibly.  Why don't we ask them?  Why don't we create multiple categories of admission so the parks can benefit from the revenue of able Participants?  let's not lose the gift m of our national park system in an effort to appease all comers.


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