Copyright 1999 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
FEBRUARY 24, 1999, WEDNESDAY
SECTION: IN THE NEWS
LENGTH:
1212 words
HEADLINE: PREPARED TESTIMONY OF
ROBERT
G. STANTON
DIRECTOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, AND RECREATION
SUBJECT - THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE BUDGET
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000.
BODY:
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee,
I welcome the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the fiscal year 2000
budget request of the National Park Service. This request seeks to make the best
possible use of limited funds to manage and preserve our nation's great natural
and cultural heritage, while responding to the growing demand for visitor
services at our national parks.
Overview
The National Park Service (NPS)
budget request for fiscal year 1999 totals $2.059 billion, which is $304.7
million, or 17.4 percent, more than the enacted mount for fiscal year 1999. The
funding would provide for operations, maintenance, land acquisition, and
construction at our 378 parks, which currently receive more than 285 million
visitors annually and are expected to receive more than 300 million in the not-
too-distant future. The request would also provide for other historic
preservation, conservation, and recreation activities, and for administrative
expenses. Funding for all major accounts except construction would be increased.
Park Operations
Park operations comprise about two-thirds of the NPS
budget. For fiscal year 2000, we are seeking an increase of $101.7 million, or
about 7.9 percent, enabling NPS to revitalize significantly management of park
resources and improve visitor services.
In a continuation of the Safe Visits
to Public Lands initiative, first proposed for fiscal year 1999, $12.5 million
of the operations increase would be used for specific facility operations and
maintenance requirements. Of that amount, an additional $5 million would be used
to address the highest priority health and safety projects, as identified in the
Department of the Interior's five-year maintenance and capital improvement plan,
and $4 million would be used to prevent deterioration of facilities to avoid
more costly rehabilitation or replacement in the future. Overall, funding for
facility operations and maintenance is proposed at over $441 million.
Also
within operations, $19.8 million of the increase would be used to implement a
Natural Resource Initiative that would enable NPS to accelerate completion of
natural resource inventories, manage native and exotic species, and conduct
other natural resource preservation, restoration and protection activities.
Another $25 million would be used for specific additional program needs at 90
parks and two historic trails, and for the U.S. Park Police. And, $26 million
would fund uncontrollable pay cost increases throughout the park system.
Construction
Construction and major maintenance, proposed at a level of
$194 million for fiscal year 2000, would likewise fund projects that address the
most critical health and safety needs of the parks, as well as high-priority
natural and cultural resource needs. Because of the downsizing of staff at the
Denver Service Center that is occurring as NPS shifts from the use of agency
staff for design and construction supervision to the more cost-effective
practice of contracting for those services, the budget request calls for a $35.7
million, or 15.5 percent, reduction to a fiscal year 2000 level of $194 million.
This change is being implemented in response to the June, 1998 recommendations
of the National Academy of Public Administration, which had been directed by
Congress to examine causes of cost control problems in the NPS construction
program.
Land Acquisition
As part oft he Administration's proposed $1
billion Lands Legacy Initiative, the NPS budget request
includes $171.5 million for Federal land acquisition. Acquisition priorities
include $80 million for the Everglades ecosystem, $20 million of which would be
used to complete land purchases within the Everglades National Park; $22 million
for threatened lands at seven Civil War battlefield parks; and $7.1 for land at
Mojave National Preserve. The request also calls for $200 million for
conservation grants and planning assistance--all in matching funds--which would
be awarded to states, local communities, and tribes on a competitive basis. Of
that amount, $50 million would be for open space planning and $150 million for
land acquisition or easements for open spaces, greenways, outdoor recreation,
urban parks, wetlands, and wildlife habitat. In addition, the request includes
$4 million for Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act grants, to be awarded
competitively, which would fund 15 to 25 matching grants to help meet recreation
needs.
Historic Preservation
The Historic Preservation Fund would be
increased by $8.1 million, to $80.5 million in fiscal year 2000. Of that amount,
$30 million would be used for grants to save important historic sites and
cultural artifacts under the Save America's Treasures program, and $15 million
would be used for the most urgently needed repairs and restoration at
historically black colleges and universities.
National Recreation and
Preservation
National Recreation and Preservation programs, which provide
support for local community efforts to preserve natural and cultural resources,
would be funded at a level of $48.3 million, an increase of $2.1 million over
fiscal year 1999. Of that amount, about $22 million--almost half--would be spent
on grants and other payments external to NPS. The request includes a $2 million
increase for the Rivers and Trails Conservation Program and $1.3 million for
grants and technical assistance for conserving, restoring, and interpreting
Chesapeake Bay watershed resources.
Other Features of the FY 2000 Budget
The Recreational Fee Demonstration Program is projected to produce fee
receipts of $137.3 million in fiscal year 2000 for NPS. Eighty percent of those
funds would support projects at collecting parks and 20 percent would be
distributed systemwide on the basis of need. Those fees would be used in
addition to regular appropriations to remedy maintenance backlogs, enhance
resource management, and improve visitor services.
NPS also anticipates
receiving an estimated $21.5 million in park concessions franchise fees in
fiscal year 2000, which will be the second year in which these fees are returned
directly to NPS. They, too, would be used to supplement appropriated funds for
visitor services and high-priority resource management programs and operations.
Like the recreational fees, 80 percent of the concessions fees would be used at
the collecting parks and 20 percent would be distributed systemwide.
Furthermore, NPS will further supplement federal dollars and NPS staff work by
making effective use of our many innovative partnership programs.
In
addition, NPS will continue implementation of plans to attract and retain a more
culturally diverse workforce and to improve and enhance a number of
administrative systems and processes. Finally, NPS will continue to improve its
implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act. All programs at
the park level are now covered by strategic plans and annual performance plans,
and individual performance standards for all park superintendents and senior
management staff are now tied to NPS performance goals.
Mr. Chairman, that
concludes my prepared remarks. My associates and I will be pleased to answer any
questions you or other members of the Subcommittee may have.
END
LOAD-DATE: February 26, 1999
