[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 96 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8758-S8759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID:
  S. 1363. A bill to prohibit the study or implementation of any plan 
to privatize, divest, or transfer any part of the mission, function, or 
responsibility of the National Park Service; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as thousands of families look forward to 
summer vacations at our beautiful national parks, we must address an 
issue that could one day ruin their experience: privatization of the 
National Park Service.
  The Park Service has worked hard to preserve Nevada's unique 
landscapes at the Great Basin National Park, Death Valley, and Lake 
Mead National Recreation Area. Instead of applauding the Park Service 
for a job well done, the Administration wants to study 1,800 jobs in 
the Park Service for privatization.
  Many of these Park Service jobs have direct contact with visitors to 
our parks. They not only collect fees and maintain parks but also give 
directions, fight wildfires when necessary, and provide emergency 
medical assistance to injured park visitors. They are not required to 
do these things; they are driven by a love for the parks and a 
commitment to public service that contractors lack.
  Privatizing the Park Service would jeopardize our national parks. 
Members of the Park Service have a career-long interest in maintaining 
the parks and perform their jobs because they are dedicated to serving 
the public. They often go beyond the call of duty to fix a problem in 
the middle of the night or change a tire for an unlucky park visitor. 
Can we be sure that a contractor would do the same? No.
  In addition, the Park Service receives tens of thousands of hours of 
volunteer work every year. At the Lake Mead National Recreation Area 
alone, volunteers provided 92,000 hours of work, the equivalent of 44 
full-time employees. Will a contractor find volunteers to provide it 
with 92,000 hours of assistance. Not likely.
  Privatization will waste taxpayer money. Privatization studies cost 
about $3,000 per position studied, and privatization does not save 
money.
  Nevadans visiting the national parks this summer want members of the 
Park Service, not profit-minded corporations, enriching their 
experience by directing them to the famous sites and best kept secrets 
of our parks.
  I oppose privatizing the Park Service because it would hurt Nevadans, 
endanger our national parks, and waste taxpayer money.
  This bill will keep our dedicated Park Service members running our 
national parks. It stops costly privatization studies and redirects the 
funds to address the maintenance backlog that President Bush promised 
to eliminate.
  I am committed to protecting our parks, and I am proud to introduce 
this bill that will ensure that the Park Service can preserve them for 
generations to come.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1363

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PARK PROFESSIONALS PROTECTION.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Park 
     Professionals Protection Act''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) The National Park System is recognized throughout the 
     world as a model for the conservation and enjoyment of 
     natural, scenic, recreational, cultural, and historic 
     resources.
       (2) The National Park System would never have achieved such 
     status, nor could the system maintain such status, without 
     the professionalism, dedication, and passion of the men and 
     women of the National Park Service.
       (3) Current plans to privatize thousands of jobs within the 
     National Park Service ignore the unique contributions made by 
     the men and women of the National Park Service and threaten 
     to undermine the entire National Park System.
       (4) Scarce park operations and maintenance resources are 
     being diverted to pay private consultants to study the 
     current privatization scheme. According to the National Park 
     Service, these studies cost approximately $3000 for each 
     position proposed to be privatized.
       (5) Despite the millions of taxpayer dollars diverted to 
     these studies, not a single report has been published 
     documenting any cost savings to be generated by the 
     privatization of park operations.
       (6) The current privatization scheme raises serious 
     questions regarding the ability of temporary workers, 
     provided by the lowest bidder, to adequately fulfill the 
     responsibilities of professional National Park Service 
     employees in the areas of conservation, interpretation, 
     emergency fire and rescue, and homeland security.
       (7) The current privatization scheme appears to affect 
     minority employees disproportionately, threatening to 
     significantly reduce the number of minority employees within 
     the National Park Service.
       (8) Pendency of the current privatization scheme is having 
     detrimental impacts on the morale of current employees and is 
     discouraging high quality candidates from applying for 
     positions within the National Park Service.
       (c) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary is prohibited from studying or 
     implementing any plan to privatize, divest, or transfer any 
     part of what is, as of the date of the enactment of this 
     section, the mission, function, or responsibility of the 
     National Park Service.
       (d) Reallocation of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Secretary shall withhold any funds 
     currently dedicated to the activities prohibited under 
     subsection (c) and shall reallocate those funds to the 
     operations and maintenance accounts within the National Park 
     Service.

[[Page S8759]]

       (e) No Effect on Certain Plans.--Nothing in this section 
     shall affect the authority, as of the date of the enactment 
     of this section, of a National Park Service Superintendent to 
     develop and implement concessions management plans and 
     commercial services plans covering, in whole or in part, the 
     area managed by that Superintendent.
       (f) Secretary Defined.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
     Secretary of the Interior and any person employed by the 
     Secretary of the Interior in any capacity.
                                 ______