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Friday, July 02, 2004

Bush Betrays Campaign Promise To Restore Parks


On the campaign trail in 2000, President Bush promised to "restore and renew" the National Park System and to eliminate its $5 billion maintenance backlog.  However, since taking office, only a small fraction of the promised funds have actually been delivered. Instead, the Bush administration has pushed for an acceleration of energy development and the construction of coal-fired power plants along park boundaries, and has opened up millions of acres of protected areas to road-building.

What's more, Bush has made repeated attempts to deceive the public about the extent of his administration's neglect, imposing a gag rule on the release of independent reports that document the effects of the chronic under-funding.  When the head of the Park Police tried to come forward about the budget crisis, the Bush administration suspended and tried to fire her.

from email summary prepared by: