House committee to mark up bill reimbursing states for shutdown costs

The House Natural Resources Committee advanced a bill by voice vote this morning to reimburse a handful of states for the roughly $2 million they paid to keep national parks open during the government shutdown.

The money would go to Arizona, Colorado, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah.

But Democrats expressed concern, at least in principle, over using scarce National Park Service funding to reimburse states rather than tackle the agency's multibillion-dollar deferred maintenance budget.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said it's unclear whether the bill complies with House rules.

"We have many unanswered questions about this legislation," he said, noting that the money does not appear to be offset. "It's not clear to us whether we are authorizing or we are mandating an appropriation. ... Are we creating an earmark?"

DeFazio said states benefited economically by paying to reopen parks.

The committee postponed votes on H.R. 2208, by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), to reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and H.R. 3492, by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), to allow hand-propelled vessels, such as kayaks, to be used in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, as well as the National Elk Refuge.

A committee spokesman said multiple factors prompted Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) to defer consideration of the bills, including that Lummis has been stuck in a snowstorm in Wyoming.

The Park Service has not submitted testimony on the Lummis bill.

The committee by voice vote also passed the following bills en bloc:

• H.R. 915, by Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass.), to authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia. Interior supports the legislation, noting that it would not use any federal funds.
• H.R. 1425, by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), to amend the Marine Debris Act to better address severe marine debris events.
• H.R. 1491, by Bonamici, to authorize the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide certain funds to eligible entities for activities undertaken to address the marine debris impacts of the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
• H.R. 2319, by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), to clarify certain provisions of the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994.
• S. 230, by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), to authorize the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs.