Doug Burgum Dodges, Deflects, and Gets Burnt for Failing to Answer for Disastrous Parks and Lands Budget
HELENA, MT — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made a rare congressional appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee today, and delivered exactly what Americans have come to expect from the least transparent Interior Secretary in modern history: no answers, no accountability, and no remorse for a budget that would gut our national parks, undermine our public lands, and further consolidate power within his Office of the Secretary.
“Interior Secretary Doug Burgum couldn’t answer for his disastrous parks and lands budget, and spent the hearing talking out of both sides of his mouth,” said Jayson O’Neill, spokesperson for Save Our Parks. “He came to Congress with no justifications for his actions after a year of mismanagement, censorship, and corruption that has set our parks up to fail and set the stage for a fire sale of our public lands at great cost to American families.”
Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Mike Simpson (R-ID) noted that few members were present at today’s hearing because it conflicted with ‘fly-in’ day for members. At one point, Rep. Pingree (D-ME) described Burgum’s explanation for cancelling cheaper offshore wind development as ‘ludicrous’ after he gave away nearly $1 billion in public funds to a foreign energy company and expanded offshore oil and gas drilling with fewer protections and safety measures.
Burgum’s proposed budget slashes the Interior Department by nearly 13%, guts the National Park Service by 25%, and eliminates nearly 3,000 park jobs, all while creating a secretive $10 billion DC Trump-ification slush fund and handing a billion dollars to a French energy company. The national parks’ maintenance backlog already exceeds $40 billion, and Burgum has blocked over 22 gigawatts of clean energy, driving up utility bills for American families. Burgum can’t even manage to fight fires correctly, and even Republicans have taken to calling his bizarre wildfire fighting consolidation plan “stupid.”
“Congress must not let Burgum off the hook. Burgum’s fail-by-design budget isn’t just bad policy, it’s a betrayal of the overwhelming majority of Americans who cherish and depend on our parks and public lands,” concluded O’Neill.
Burgum will have another chance when he appears in front of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee this week on Wednesday, April 22 at 10 am ET.
Additional Background:
Questions About Burgum’s Park Privatization & Public Land Sell Off Budget
NEW: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s Disastrous Budget A Nightmare for America’s National Parks
To speak with Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill, email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com.
###
