[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    NPS EMPLOYEE HOUSING ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 1994

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the National Park 
Service Employee Housing Act of 1994. National Park Service [NPS] 
employee housing has been and continues to be of deep concern to me. On 
September 29, 1994, I released a General Accounting Office [GAO] 
report, which was undertaken at my request that called for a 
reexamination of employee housing needs within the National Park 
Service.
  The GAO report is a more comprehensive review of concerns that I have 
continued to raise regarding the needs side of the NPS housing issue 
and details several options available to the NPS to deal with its 
housing problems. The report also compares the NPS housing situation 
with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management within the 
Department of the Interior. This report, as well as an earlier GAO 
report, questions the justification for about 12 percent of the 
National Park Service's housing inventory, as well as the accuracy of 
its backlog estimate of $546 million, which could not be verified 
because of the lack of documentation.
  Mr. Speaker, let me emphasize that where there is a valid need for 
NPS employee housing it should be provided. Importantly, while there 
are certainly examples of deplorable employee housing, the overall 
housing needs of the agency have not been accurately identified, nor 
does the agency have a plan in place to deal with its housing problems. 
In order to properly address this growing dilemma, the Congress needs 
an accurate assessment of the agency's housing requirements, the costs 
associated with those requirements, and a viable working plan to get 
there. Ironically, Mr. Speaker, major proposals have been advanced 
without a thorough review of the existing policy or sound objectives. 
Such an approach merely circumvents the real issues and compounds the 
housing problems. Before we pump more money into the NPS housing 
program, the Congress and the agency must set new priorities and 
reframe the old policies to fit the needs of 1994 and beyond.

  The legislation before you does just that. It requires the agency to 
revise its housing policies to fit present circumstances; to justify 
its housing requirements on a park unit-by-park basis; and, to 
carefully examine who should occupy government housing and determine 
when it is necessary and justified to meet the mission of the agency. 
The bill also requires the agency to undertake a park unit-by-park unit 
review of existing government-owned employee housing to assess the 
physical condition and suitability of such housing to effectively carry 
out the agency's mission. The review is to contain cost estimates to 
bring such housing units up to suitability standards or if obsolete, 
the cost to replace the unit if it is still warranted. The results of 
this review are to be sent to the Congress along with a strategy and a 
plan to meet employee housing needs. Once these critical factors have 
been met, the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
undertake various alternatives to meet the legitimate housing needs of 
NPS employees.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe this to be a sound bill which addresses the 
housing issue head on--both from a needs and a supply basis. It 
reexamines existing policy, it justifies housing requirements, it 
recertifies employee housing eligibility, it identifies cost, it calls 
for a plan of action, and it authorizes alternatives to meet the needs. 
I urge my colleagues' support.

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