Shutdown Drama Puts National Park Service in Crossfire

Visitors to the nation’s capital this week may have been disappointed to learn many of the city’s most famous monuments are temporarily closed to the public – a consequence, lawmakers have said, of the federal government shutdown.

But, spurred by a high-profile visit to the World War II memorial by veterans, some conservative members of Congress are questioning the National Park Service’s decision to close the sites to the general public, as officials associated with the park service defend it.

Today, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee announced that he has requested additional information from the park service outlining its position.

“The committee is concerned with NPS’s allocation of resources during this time of lapsed funding,” Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., wrote in a letter to National Park Service director Jonathan Jarvis. “Numerous media outlets have reported that NPS has erected barricades to keep people from entering the National World War II Memorial and other monuments.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday, busloads of elderly veterans with the “Honor Flights” non-profit group arrived at the World War II memorial to find it closed with bike-rack style barricades. However, a handful of park police at the site did not interfere when the vets and volunteers entered anyway, as a circus of media and lawmakers watched. Later, the Park Service declared that the Honor Flights, or any veteran, could enter the memorial freely under First Amendment protection.

Issa is the second committee chairman to formally inquire with park officials.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/10/shutdown-drama-puts-national-park-service-in-crossfire/

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Comment by truth on October 5, 2013 at 7:51pm

Civil Disobedience: Americans Breach Barricades Around Lincoln Memo...

Infowars.com
October 5, 2013

John Ervin of Hermann, Mo. brought his daughter to the nation’s capitol to celebrate her 10th birthday.

“The Lincoln Memorial was the only things she wanted to see,” he said.

Ervin breached the barricade and reached the top of the memorial as the crowd cheered below.

This article was posted: Saturday, October 5, 2013 at 2:49 pm

Comment by Dean on October 5, 2013 at 6:07pm: The Federal Government owns nothing. Everything they control, is owned by the People. These morons are begging for a Civics Lesson!

Comment by guest_blog on October 5, 2013 at 6:04pm

Restaurant Owner Leasing Property In National Park Opens Up In Defiance of Shut Down - Parks Goons Block Road After 2 Hours

The Essential Employees- goons, were following orders from National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis

: FEDS TRY TO CLOSE THE OCEAN BECAUSE OF SHUTDOWN

Comment by guest_blog on October 5, 2013 at 5:29pm: Feds Spare No Expense to Close Popular Tourist Sites

Determined to put a real “sting” into the shutdown of the federal government in the absence of Congressional passage of a continuing resolution, the federal government incurred the added expense of shuttering popular open-air tourist sites.

“Money isn't the issue,” National Parks Director Jonathan Jarvis insisted. “These parks are owned by the federal government. We say when they are open and when they are closed.”

As it turns out, the NPS exercised more authority than it has. The blockades included privately funded sites that the NPS “mistakenly believed” they had the right to close. The most prominent of these was Mount Vernon—the former home of George Washington that is now run by a privately funded foundation. For that matter, though it sits on federally owned land, the WWII memorial was also built with privately raised donations.

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Opinion/142871-2013-10-04-semi-news-...