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 Congressman Steve Daines today applauded the House passage of a measure to provide necessary appropriations to keep the nation’s National Parks open during the partial government shutdown.

Daines pressed House leadership yesterday to bring forward legislation that would provide necessary appropriations to keep the country’s National Parks open and accessible to visitors during the government shutdown, noting the economic importance of National Parks and tourism to many Montana communities.

The measure was passed with bipartisan support this evening and now heads to the Senate for approval.

In a speech on the House floor yesterday, Daines noted the importance of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks to Montana’s economy.

Click hereto download video of Daines’ remarks

“I speak as fifth-generation Montanan. I speak also as the voice of the people from the state of Montana who know that our National Parks not only represent an important part of our economy, but also an important part of our national heritage,” Daines stated.“We are seeing firsthand, as we’re listening to phone calls coming in from constituents across my state, the undue hardships that communities surrounding Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks are facing due to Washington, D.C.’s failures.”

“They’re being directly affected by these parks being shut down—they depend on these parks for tourism, for economic growth, for jobs. I’m grateful that I raised these concerns this morning to the leadership of the House and here we are this afternoon responding to these problems and solving them,” Daines continued.“I’m glad we’re going to be moving forward here to open up the National Parks. I urge Congress to come together and provide the funding needed to keep our National Park gates open.”