Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum begins two days of testimony on Capitol Hill to House and Senate appropriators.
Burgum is scheduled to appear before the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Tuesday morning, followed by the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Wednesday morning.
His testimony comes as the Trump administration pursues sweeping cuts at the Department of the Interior. The administration’s proposed budget calls for $5 billion worth of funding cuts for the Department of the Interior, including $900 million at the National Park Service alone. Despite the possibility of significant funding shortages, Burgum has issued a secretarial order requiring national park units to remain fully open to visitors. Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have also orchestrated the firings of thousands of employees across the department. These firings have left some national park units without critical staff, including Yosemite National Park’s only locksmith.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:
“America’s national parks and public lands are part of what makes this country great. Generations of Americans have explored these treasured places, but Donald Trump is locking the gates and hanging up a ‘do not enter’ sign. Funding our national monuments, national parks, and park rangers should be beyond political games – and many on both sides of the aisle agree – but Donald Trump is more concerned with padding the bottom line of corporate polluters. Sierra Club and its allies are working tirelessly to make sure those matchless landscapes remain open and welcoming to all, not just Donald Trump’s billionaire backers.”
Schedule:
House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Interior budget
Tuesday, May 20, at 10 a.m.
2008 Rayburn and via webcast.
Witness: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Interior Department budget
Wednesday, May 21, at 10:30 a.m.
124 Dirksen and via webcast.
Witness: Burgum
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.