Eight House Democrats and eleven senators have written to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking where national park fee money is going. Their letters, dated June 10 and June 12, followed media reports that the Trump administration redirected roughly $90 million in park fees toward renovations and celebratory displays in Washington, D.C., ahead of America’s 250th birthday on July 4.
The New York Times and the Washington Post reported that the Park Service is using at least $60 million in fees to repair nine ornamental fountains in the capital. Documents showed another $7 million going to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, with more set aside for a $1.6 million Fourth of July fireworks show.
What the lawmakers wrote
Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico and seven other Democratic representatives signed the House letter. “The public deserves to know how their park fees are being spent, and Congress cannot conduct appropriate oversight without basic information about these transactions,” they wrote. Sen. Adam Schiff of California led the Senate letter, which asked the Interior Department to respond by June 23.
The senators also raised revenue from online America the Beautiful passes. No law requires that money to be spent in any particular place, and the letter quoted sources who say much of it is funding the president’s “beautification” projects.
Vasquez pointed to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which he said has over $45 million in deferred maintenance. “The administration is choosing to let roads, trails and wastewater systems in the park fall into disrepair amid the peak summer visitor season so it can paint statues gold in Washington,” he said. Schiff called it “the latest scheme by the President to put himself before the American people.” The Park Service puts its total repair backlog at about $24 billion.
Is it legal?
Probably, the rules suggest. Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, at least 80% of fee money must go back to the park where it was collected. The other 20% is available for use across the system, which helps parks that charge no entry fee. Just over 100 of the more than 400 parks charge one. The National Mall and various memorials do not, so the department can legally spend leftover revenue there.
Tony Irish, a former Interior senior attorney now at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said this year’s allocation appears to greatly exceed what the department has put into D.C. public spaces before. The rush could also cost more later, he said. The $14 million reflecting pool was finished at the start of June and has already collected clumps of green algae. “Not only are we displacing higher-priority needs right now, but we’re still going to have unmet needs in the future at an additional cost to the taxpayer,” Irish said.
An Interior spokesperson said the Park Service has been working on deferred maintenance across the country, drawing on endowment funds and pass sales. In a June 16 emailed statement, the spokesperson said: “While other administrations have let the city fall into decay, President Trump has made Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful again, and we should all be grateful.”
