[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15414]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    MR. PRESIDENT: THIS IS OUR LAND

  (Mr. SMITH of Missouri asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, President Obama must stop playing 
politics with our National Park System. The parks belong to every 
American and should not be held hostage in President Obama's political 
game.
  In the 1960s, the Federal Government established the Ozark National 
Scenic Riverways in south central Missouri under the guise of 
protecting the rivers and forests for all Missourians. Some 50 years 
later, President Obama is taking away our access. The riverways do not 
belong to President Obama. They belong to my constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, President Obama is working to make his shutdown as 
painful as possible. The President has barricaded parks and monuments 
across the country, including the open-air World War II Memorial in 
Washington. It costs more money to barricade the monuments than it 
would to leave them open.
  The national parks do not belong to President Obama. The parks belong 
to every American. It's time for President Obama to open our national 
parks. It's time for President Obama to stop playing politics with our 
parks.

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