Press Releases

Rep. Gosar Responds to Agreement to Re-Open the Grand Canyon  

 Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) issued the following statement concerning the agreement between the state of Arizona and the National Park Service to re-open the Grand Canyon:

"I am pleased that the Park Service responded to the common sense requests made by the Governor, the Mayor of Tusayan and myself to allow the state and local governments to step in and temporarily manage the Grand Canyon in light of the federal government slowdown. Americans can now visit the crown jewel of our national park system and enjoy their vacations.

The fact that the Grand Canyon was shutdown by the federal government only to be re-opened by the state of Arizona provides more clear evidence of two things I have said all along: the states are better managers of public land and there is an obvious failure of leadership at the White House. Almost two weeks ago the House voted to fully fund all National Parks, including the Grand Canyon. The shutdown of the parks was a deliberate decision by the President to “inflict pain” on hard working Americans.

My thanks go out to Governor Brewer and Mayor Bryan for working together to get this done.

As far as the President's statement saying that the State and local governments will not get reimbursed for their costs in running national parks, this is another example of the President seeking to inflict harm on the American people to make a political point. I co-sponsored legislation, H.R.3286, that would fully reimburse the state of Arizona for funding national park services. I want the State to know its initiative will be commended, not punished. Once again Arizona shows that it is a leader in doing the job the federal government refuses to do."

Background:
On October 1, 2013, President Obama ordered all National Parks closed due to the government slow down. Since that time, 83 percent of the federal government has been operating. The House of Representatives passed a full funding bill for National Parks on October 2, a bill that the Senate refused to vote upon, thus resulting in the closure of the parks. During fall, the Grand Canyon draws about 18,000 people a day who spend approximately $1 million per day in the local economy. 

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