Progress Cited on National Parks

[GreenPartyVoter]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Eliminating a maintenance backlog in the national parks, as President Bush promised in his 2000 campaign, is impossible, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Thursday. She likened the park system to an old house that will forever need repairs.

"Just like in your house," Norton said in answer to a reporter's question. "You never get to the point where you say, 'Well, all done, totally zero left to do.'"

The National Park Service has come under criticism from environmentalists, retired agency employees and House Republican who oversee the service's budget. So Norton summoned reporters to show how much money the agency has spent on parks on Bush's watch.

Her report said Bush "is meeting his commitment to invest $4.9 billion to address maintenance needs" by 2006 and has increased spending in other areas. The administration, Norton said, has added the equivalent of 829 full-time jobs to the agency since 2000, bringing the total to 20,637. Previously, she has said that more than $3 billion has spent so far.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040708/D83MQI5O1.html