Jon L. Christensen: “the bill that is before the House today is considerably different than the legislation introduced last year. It reflects…”

“the bill that is before the House today is considerably different than the legislation introduced last year. It reflects the hard work of my colleague the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) and the careful consideration of the Committee on Resources, and as presently amended, H.R. 1370 has the potential to enhance the visiting public's experience at our national wildlife refuges. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. The National Wildlife Refuge System is presently saddled with a significant $1.3 billion operations and maintenance budget backlog. Concessionaires which operate in the refuges and offer a wide variety of services, such as we have heard, are uniquely affected by this backlog. Presently, most concessionaires pay annual franchise fees to the National Wildlife Refuge Fund. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which runs the refuge system and owns the land and facilities, is responsible for maintaining all facilities. However, the Service gives low priority to concessionaire facilities when faced with other competing budget demands within the system. This inferior status leaves concessionaire facilities lacking and discourages concessionaires from using the refuges and providing services to visitors.”