{"id":2039260,"date":"2023-09-20T18:30:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T22:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/barrasso-calls-for-parks-to-stay-open-during-shutdown-with-method-deemed-illegal\/"},"modified":"2023-09-20T18:35:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T22:35:44","slug":"barrasso-calls-for-parks-to-stay-open-during-shutdown-with-method-deemed-illegal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/barrasso-calls-for-parks-to-stay-open-during-shutdown-with-method-deemed-illegal\/","title":{"rendered":"Barrasso urges parks to remain open during shutdown, despite legality concerns."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbarrasso-calls-for-parks-to-stay-open-during-shutdown-with-method-deemed-illegal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2039260&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Senator Barrasso\u200d Urges Interior Secretary to Keep National Parks Open During Government Shutdown<\/h2>\n<p>In a bold move, Senator John Barrasso is \u2062calling on Interior Secretary\u2064 Deb Haaland to \u2062ensure that national parks and public lands\u200b remain accessible even in the event of a government shutdown. Barrasso, the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural\u2063 Resources Committee, is\u200b proposing a method that was \u200dpreviously deemed illegal during the Trump\u200d administration.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter sent on Wednesday, Barrasso urged the \u2062Interior Department to utilize visitor fees collected under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act\u2062 (FLREA) to keep parks open if funding becomes insufficient after the September 30 government funding deadline.\u200d He cited the\u2062 precedent set\u2062 during the December 2018 shutdown when then-acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt tapped into\u2064 these fees to keep national parks operational.<\/p>\n<h3>Prioritizing Public Access and Environmental Preservation<\/h3>\n<p>Barrasso emphasized the responsibility of the\u200d Interior Secretary to ensure that people have the opportunity\u200b to enjoy parks while safeguarding visitor health, safety, and the environment for future generations. He\u200c called for \u2062the parks and public lands to remain open and accessible during a shutdown to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/barrasso-calls-for-parks-to-stay-open-during-shutdown-with-method-deemed-illegal\/\" title=\"Barrasso urges parks to remain open during shutdown, despite legality concerns.\">prevent irreversible environmental damage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>During\u200d the previous shutdown, the National \u200bPark Service\u200d utilized FLREA funds to cover visitor services and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-rules-obamas-daca-program-illegal\/\" title=\"Judge deems Obama's DACA program unlawful.\">law enforcement costs<\/a>, allowing \u200cthe parks to remain open. However, \u2064the nonpartisan \u200bGovernment\u200d Accountability Office (GAO) later issued a\u2062 legal opinion stating that the Trump administration had violated the law by using these fees for purposes other than supporting visitor services,\u2063 operations, and maintenance.<\/p>\n<p>The GAO&#8217;s opinion highlighted\u200b that this approach violated both FLREA and the Antideficiency Act, which restricts agencies\u200b from redirecting \u2064funds \u2063without congressional approval.<\/p>\n<h3>Accountability and Future Actions<\/h3>\n<p>Although the GAO recommended that Interior report\u2062 the violation to Congress and take necessary actions to prevent \u200bfuture violations, no charges were filed. \u2062However, the agency warned that any future violations would be considered &#8220;knowing and willful&#8221; and\u2064 could result in penalties of \u200cup to $5,000 and two \u2062years\u2062 in prison.<\/p>\n<p>While the GAO&#8217;s legal opinion does not\u200b bind the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sotomayor-uses-supreme-court-staff-to-hawk-her-books\/\" title=\"Sotomayor exploits Supreme Court staff to promote her books.\">executive branch due<\/a>\u2062 to the separation of powers doctrine, Interior rejected the analysis, asserting \u200dthat it had acted \u200bwithin its legal authority. The Office of Budget and \u200cManagement\u200c also\u200b supported Interior&#8217;s interpretation of FLREA authority.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Barrasso&#8217;s request for further information includes an accounting of FLREA funds available for visitor\u200d services during a shutdown, a contingency plan to fund park services \u200cif appropriations \u2063run out, and\u200b a list of parks without fees or insufficient balances, along with\u2062 a proposed expenditure plan to address \u2063funding shortfalls.<\/p>\n<p>The Interior Department has declined to comment on the matter.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What negative impacts do \u200dthe closures of national parks have on local economies that depend \u2062on tourism revenue?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Are\u2063 able to access and enjoy the national parks \u200dand public lands, which belong to all Americans, \u2062even during \u2062a government shutdown. He \u2062argued that the closure of national parks due to a lack of\u200d funding not only \u2063deprives citizens of their right to enjoy these natural treasures \u2063but also has a negative impact on local economies that depend on \u2063tourism revenue.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, the Senator stressed the importance of preserving\u2062 and protecting our\u2063 national\u200b parks and \u200dpublic lands. He acknowledged the efforts made by the Interior Department to maintain these areas during\u200b previous shutdowns but\u2063 expressed concern that the current interpretation of the Antideficiency Act (ADA) prevents visitor fees from being used to fund park operations in \u200cthe absence of appropriations.<\/p>\n<h3>Challenging the \u2062Previous Administration&#8217;s Interpretation of the Law<\/h3>\n<p>Barrasso highlighted the legality\u2062 of using visitor fees under the FLREA to\u200c support park operations during a\u200d shutdown. \u2064He argued that the Trump administration&#8217;s interpretation of \u200bthe ADA, which deemed such actions\u2063 illegal, was flawed. He cited \u2063the 2018 precedent set\u200b by then-acting Interior \u2064Secretary David Bernhardt, who used these fees \u2064to keep national parks\u2063 accessible during the government shutdown at that time.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Barrasso noted that Congress\u2063 has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-patty-murray-confirms-ukraine-and-disaster-aid-spending-bill-in-the-works\/\" title=\"Sen. Patty Murray confirms progress on Ukraine and disaster aid bill.\">shown bipartisan support<\/a> for legislation to clarify the ADA&#8217;s provisions regarding funding for \u200dnational parks during a shutdown. \u2064He urged Secretary Haaland to \u200cwork with \u200dCongress to amend the law and ensure\u200b that visitor fees can be used to keep parks open and operational during future funding gaps.<\/p>\n<h3>A Call \u2063for Consistency and Accountability<\/h3>\n<p>The Senator \u200demphasized\u200d the need for \u2063consistency in\u2062 funding and policy when it comes to\u200d national parks and\u2064 public lands. He argued that the closure of these areas during a government\u2063 shutdown creates confusion and uncertainty for visitors,\u200b park \u2062staff, and local communities.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Barrasso \u2062called for greater accountability \u2063in the management of visitor fees. He urged the Interior Department\u2062 to provide transparent \u2064reporting \u200con the collection and utilization of these\u200c fees so that the \u2062public can have \u2062confidence in their use \u200dand\u2063 understand how they contribute to the maintenance and improvement \u2062of \u2063national parks.<\/p>\n<h3>The Future\u2063 of National Parks and \u200bPublic Lands<\/h3>\n<p>In conclusion, Senator\u200c Barrasso&#8217;s letter to Interior Secretary Haaland emphasizes the importance of\u2062 keeping national parks and public lands open\u2062 and accessible during a government shutdown. He calls for a \u2063revised interpretation of the ADA that allows visitor \u200dfees to be used for park \u200boperations and urges greater consistency in\u200d funding and\u2062 policy.<\/p>\n<p>By prioritizing\u200b public access and environmental preservation, Barrasso seeks to ensure that future generations can enjoy and benefit from the natural wonders\u2064 of\u200c our national parks. He\u2062 calls on Secretary Haaland\u200c to work\u2064 with Congress and the Biden administration to address these concerns and establish a clear and accountable framework for\u2064 the management of national\u200b parks and \u200bpublic lands\u2062 during government shutdowns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), urges Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to keep national parks and public lands accessible during a potential government shutdown. Barrasso suggests employing a method previously considered unlawful by a government watchdog agency under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2039261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2039260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2039260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2039260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2039260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2039261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2039260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2039260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2039260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}