[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19290]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2004

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                               speech of

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 17, 2003

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2691) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and 
     for other purposes.

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the DeFazio-
Bradley amendment to strike the Mr. Recreational Fee Demonstration 
program from the Interior Appropriations bill. This program is 
punitive, unfair, and mismanaged.
  The Recreation Fee Demonstration program allows the U.S. Forest 
Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, 
and the National Park Service to charge citizens to recreate on public 
land, including primitive trails and unimproved campgrounds. I 
believe--as do many of my constituents who hike and picnic in the 
Angeles National Forest in Southern California--that it is patently 
unfair to charge them a fee to hike or picnic in these undeveloped 
public lands that they already support with their tax dollars.
  The GAO has recently found evidence of serious mismanagement of the 
Recreation Fee program. Only 50 cents of every dollar collected is 
actually used to maintain or improve our public lands. This 
mismanagement is unacceptable, and we must not allow it to continue.
  Let me be clear that I strongly support the National Park System, and 
users have already paid fees for use of National Parks, as well as 
developed campsites, boat launches, and other developed areas. Evidence 
shows that the National Park Service has a much more impressive track 
record in utilizing its program fees towards maintenance backlogs in 
national parks.
  Nonetheless, we must not allow the Recreation Fee Demonstration 
program to continue without enhanced Congressional oversight. I urge my 
colleagues to support the DeFazio-Bradley amendment to strike this 
wasteful program.

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