William R. Richardson: “Although H.R. 2941, as introduced, dealt solely with employee housing, a comprehensive substitute was adopted by the…”

“Although H.R. 2941, as introduced, dealt solely with employee housing, a comprehensive substitute was adopted by the Resources Committee that incorporated several diverse park proposals that were pending before the committee. I did not object to this procedure being used in this instance. In fact, Representative Hansen and his staff worked with Democratic members of the committee and the administration to craft a package we can all support. The centerpiece of this legislative package is the National Park Service employee housing initiative. We have all seen or heard of examples of deplorable employee housing. We know problems exist. If we are to properly address this issue, the Congress needs an accurate assessment of employee housing requirements, the costs associated with those requirements, and a viable working plan to address housing needs. Representative Vento who worked on this issue for several years took the lead to develop language that was adopted by the committee to address this important aspect of the program. It is a better bill because of these provisions.”