Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (October 9, 2013) – Following the Administration’s pick-and-choose approach to managing national monuments during the government shutdown, thirteen members of the Congressional Western Caucus sent a letter to National Park Service (NPS) Director Jonathan Jarvis requesting the criteria, if any, that is being used to determine who is allowed to exercise their right to free speech and who is not.

Throughout the government shutdown, NPS has blocked veterans from visiting open-air memorials dedicated to their service, forced homeowners out of their homes because they sit on federal land, blocked off viewing areas outside of Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, ordered senior citizens to stop taking photographs at Yellowstone National Park, and locked these same seniors in their hotel.

Excerpts from the letter:

“We write today, however, with great concern that the NPS is violating this non-partisan tradition, and blatantly politicizing who gets access to public facilities during the government shutdown. The NPS is permitting certain political activities by special interests friendly to the White House on public lands, but ensuring that ordinary citizens are denied entry to NPS facilities in Washington, DC and throughout the country.”

“Is it NPS policy that only those exercising their First Amendment rights in a mass demonstration may access our public lands at certain arbitrary times? Please include the specific criteria, if any, that the NPS uses to determine who is and who is not exercising their right to free speech.”

“Public lands are owned by all the people. They have a right to their continued use. Using taxpayer funded spaces as a means to advance the White House’s favored interests, while closing off admission to ordinary Americans not engaged in political activities, is morally reprehensible. This behavior exemplifies what is wrong with Washington. The people of this country deserve better than political appointees dictating who wins and who loses in a government shutdown based on partisan beliefs.”

The full text of the letter can be read here.