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GOP bill would prevent National Park closures during next shutdown
US Park Ranger Richard Trott places a closed sign on a barricade in front of the World War II Memorial monument in Washington, DC, October 1, 2013. The US government shut down Tuesday for the first time in 17 years after a gridlocked Congress failed to reach a federal budget deal amid bitter brinkmanship. Some 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed in a move reminiscent of two previous shutdowns -- for six days in November 1995 and 21 days from December that year into early 1996. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

GOP bill would prevent National Park closures during next shutdown

...because we all know there will be another shutdown:

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) has introduced legislation that would prevent national park closures during any future government shutdown.

The bill, titled the "Provide Access and Retain Continuity Act" (PARC), would allow states to fund and keep operations running at parks and other federal facilities or programs that directly effect tourism, mining, timber, or transportation.

"The PARC Act would ensure that an agreement is in place to allow states to quickly continue funding and operating federal facilities and programs that are vital to their economies, if they so choose," Stewart said in a statement on Tuesday.

"There is no reason that hardworking American families and communities should be punished due to circumstances over which they have no control."

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Meredith Jessup

Meredith Jessup

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