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This week the Obama Administration began erecting metal barricades to keep families, veterans, school groups and visitors out of popular open-air monuments in Washington D.C. such as the Lincoln Memorial, which did not happen during the last government shutdown, and the World War II Memorial. The U.S. Park Service has also closed small businesses and non-profit operations that happen to… Read more »

This week the Obama Administration began erecting steel barricades to keep veterans, families and visitors out of popular open-air monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial and World War II Memorial. Despite the fact that these are open-air sites that are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and are only staffed by Park Rangers during certain hours of the day, the Obama… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following statement (as prepared for delivery) on the House floor calling on the Senate to act on common sense legislation to keep our National Parks open. “Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House passed and sent to the Senate a bipartisan bill to keep our National Parks open. Twenty-three Democrats joined with… Read more »

In an attempt to make the government shutdown as painful as possible, the Obama Administration yesterday chose to erect metal barricades around the World War II Memorial (an open air memorial that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) and stationed armed National Park Police to block World War II veterans from entering their memorial. It’s ironic that while our Nation’s heroes are met… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) today sent a letter to National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis regarding the Obama Administration’s actions to restrict public access to the World War II Memorial and other open-air monuments, memorials and parks in Washington,… Read more »

Yesterday, the Obama Administration began selectively erecting barricades to keep visitors, including large groups of World War II veterans, from visiting popular monuments such as the World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the National Mall. However, the Obama Administration is applying this policy inconsistently and choosing which memorials to block off and which to… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to President Obama calling on him to immediately sign into law H.R. 527, the Helium Stewardship Act. The House and Senate unanimously approved this legislation last week to reform the Federal helium program and prevent an impending helium shortage. Full text of letter: Dear Mr. President, I urge you… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings delivered the following statement (as prepared) on the House floor today in support of H.J.Res. __, Open Our National Parks and Museums Act: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this legislation to fund National Parks. No one wanted a government shut down and one of the unfortunate consequences is that millions of… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) issued the following statement regarding Senate passage of H.R. 527, the Helium Stewardship Act: “This final bill reflects true bipartisan and bicameral work for the greater good of our Nation and economy. I thank my colleagues in the House and Senate for their work and dedication to passing a bill that will not only… Read more »