Raúl Grijalva: “this amendment is clearly intended to stop the boundary expansion at the Carl Sandburg home historical site from ever…”

“this amendment is clearly intended to stop the boundary expansion at the Carl Sandburg home historical site from ever happening. It imposes excessive, ill-defined requirements on this historic site, standards that we have never imposed on any other national park or government agency, and that I suspect most of us would never impose on ourselves. Could you, as a homeowner, certify that all maintenance on your home is ever complete? Isn't there always a light bulb to be changed, a wall to be painted? Would we expect the Department of Defense to certify that maintenance on every piece of equipment in their inventory is complete before allowing them to purchase new equipment? Of course not. So why is the Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site expected to meet that standard? The minority has had 12 years to do something about the National Park Service maintenance backlog and failed to act, but that failure should not be allowed to hinder the continuing needs of the National Park System. The new majority in Congress is committed to addressing the past budget shortfalls, while managing and growing the National Park Service responsibly. We can do both, and we must do both. Further, Mr. Bishop's amendment requires an unspecified person to determine that all deferred maintenance at Carl Sandburg has been completed, but fails to define not only who makes the determination, but also what the definition of 'deferred maintenance' is.”