02.05.16

Grijalva Highlights Need for National Park Funding As NPS Releases Nationwide $11.9 Billion Maintenance Backlog Estimate

Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the National Park Service’s (NPS) announcement today that the maintenance backlog at our national parks has reached a staggering $11.9 billion. Grijalva introduced the Centennial Act (H.R. 3556) last year to provide funding and management authority for the NPS to help the country celebrate the Service’s 100th anniversary later in 2016, address the Service’s maintenance backlog and further enhance the public experience at National Park Service units across the country.

“Years of stagnant budgets and neglect from Congress have led to infrastructure in need of repair in all of our four hundred and nine national park units, from the Grand Canyon to the Statue of Liberty,” Grijalva said. House Republicans go home to their districts and tell the local newspaper that they support national parks, and then they fly to D.C. and vote against giving the NPS the funding it needs.  You can’t claim to love parks if you’re not willing to invest in them.

“This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the National Park Service and represents an opportunity to make a significant and lasting investment in the future of our national parks. That’s why I introduced the Centennial Act to authorize more than a billion dollars to address the maintenance backlog. We create parks to preserve our heritage for future generations, and the Centennial Anniversary is our opportunity to ensure they endure another hundred years and beyond.”

The National Mall in Washington, D.C., has a maintenance backlog of more than $852 million, according to the report released by the NPS. Saguaro National Park, just outside Grijalva’s home town of Tucson, has a maintenance backlog of more than $18 million.

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