How will Grand Canyon and other national parks be impacted by the president's desire to see the Interior Department budget cut by $1.5 billion?/Kurt Repanshek
How will Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spread a 12 percent budget cut, if directed so by Congress, across his department and its agencies, including the National Park Service? That's a question U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva wants an answer to "as soon as possible," and he's made that point in a letter asking House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop to call the secretary before the full committee.
"It is crucial that the American people understand how the department will achieve its core missions with limited funding, as well as the science and policy underpinning the department's public pronouncements," wrote Rep. Grijalva.
While the Arizona Democrat didn't specifically reference "climate change" in the letter sent Wednesday, the Trump administration has expressed disbelief in it and is said to be working to reverse the Obama administation's efforts to reduce the country's impact on global warming.
What Rep. Grijalva made clear was his concern about how the Interior Department will be impacted by the 12 percent ($1.5 billion) budget cut the Trump administration is calling for in the upcoming Fiscal 2018 budget.
"It is imperative that you invite Interior Secretary Zinke to appear before our committee as soon as possible," wrote Mr. Grijalva, the ranking Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee. "Given the lack of detail provided in the president's proposal, it is critical that Secretary Zinke appear before the committee to explain how the department plans to fulfill its responsibilities to manage our national parks and other federal lands, oceans, endangered wildlife, cultural resources, and honor the federal government's trust responsibilities to Native American tribes using $1.5 billion less in funding."
In the letter the Democrat noted that since January 5 he has been requesting, on a weekly basis, a meeting with Secretary Zinke (then the nominee), but has yet to receive a response.
"A period of adjustment at the dawn of a new administration is to be expected," wrote Rep. Grijalva. "Months of deliberate silence on each and every significant issue facing the department is not. A sustained refusal to even acknowledge inquiries from the Congress is not."
Comments
Thank goodness for Grijalva. But it's probably an exercise in futility.
Eliminate all support of the fake climate change initiatives would be a good start. That's about 20% of the budget?
Checking the NPS Green Book budget document shows the NPS budget has increased on average 3.5% per year and added 281 FTEs in the last few years. Would rolling that budget back to the 2014 level be catastrophic? The country''s debt to GDP ratio is over 100% and servicing that debt will grow substantially as interest rates rise. How do we get out of this hole? Or do we kick the issue down the road? Canadians are appalled that their leaders have intense the debt to GDP ratio to 32%. We should be so lucky.