"It is simply unsustainable."
"We need to use the most accurate data available, even when it tells us what we don't want to hear, though I must say, it is somewhat disheartening."
"the Great American Outdoors Act, unquestionably has been a significant step forward, but at the same time, there is still more deferred maintenance."
"As they say, you get what you inspect, not what you expect."
"I know if we went and tallied up all the climate change studies going on right now across all the federal budgets, it is a massive number."
"It was meant to be kind of a jump-start to it, to get out of the hole, but not a means to replace what needs to be taken care of."
"if we keep seeing flat to--with inflation, really, declining investments in maintenance, it is going to be a recurring discussion here in this Committee."
"As I mentioned earlier, last year, Yellowstone Park suffered from flooding, which destroyed roads, bridges, wastewater systems..."
"We hoped that would be able to cut that backlog in half. Unfortunately, we now know, at the end of Fiscal Year 2022, the total deferred maintenance backlog is more like $22 billion."
"Many said it was the greatest conservation win in perhaps up to 50 years."
"We have to think about maintenance backlog as debt that is held by our parks."