Rep. Darrell Issa has written to the National Park Service. House GOP ups monument probe

House Republicans on Thursday intensified their probe of the Obama administration’s decision to close Washington’s World War II memorial, the latest salvo in the political war over the government shutdown.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wrote to National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis demanding information about why the memorial was closed.


“The Committee is concerned with NPS’s allocation of resources during this time of lapsed funding,” Issa and Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), the chairman of the subcommittee on government operations, wrote. “Our concerns are heightened due to NPS’s suspicious decisions during the lead-up to the sequester.”

Thursday’s letter is part of a Republican push to bash the administration’s decision to close the memorials and monuments. Republicans are trying to gain the upper hand in the shutdown fight amid polls that show the public blames the GOP for the shutdown.

The Republican lawmakers said their distrust of the closures stemmed from information the committee uncovered in March as sequestration cuts went into effect, and they accused NPS of making budgetary decisions “designed to intentionally cause the most disruption to the public in a time of reduced funding.”

“Information presented to the Committee suggested budget adjustments resulting in obvious hardship or displeasure for the public were chosen in lieu of more prudent measures. Specifically, the Committee received information that proposed budget adjustments submitted by an NPS official in the field to deal with sequestration impacts were rejected by NPS superiors in favor of cuts that would be more visible and disruptive,” the lawmakers wrote.

They also requested that NPS provide by Oct. 17 all documents and communications behind the decision to close the memorial and other park service-operated facilities on the National Mall, as well as documents on the cost of closing the facilities.

Other Republicans are also probing the World War II memorial closure, including members of the House Natural Resources Committeewho sent their own letter Wednesday asking Jarvis to preserve all documents related to the decision. The letter also said the committee is considering holding an oversight hearing on the issue.

Republican lawmakers flocked to the World War II memorial this week to help veterans access the site , which had been blocked with barriers by NPS. The move won Republicans a surge of media attention and created a new set of talking points in the shutdown fight.

House Republicans have sought to fund certain agencies, including NPS, through a piecemeal approach. But Democrats have rejected that tactic, calling for a clean bill to fund the entire government and blaming Republicans for shutting down the government in the first place.

After the furor over the closure, NPS said this week it will allow veterans on Honor Flights to visit the memorial “to conduct First Amendment activities.”

In a statement about the shutdown-related closures, NPS spokeswoman Carol Johnson said, “The National Park Service depends on Congressional appropriations to stay open. With the lapse in appropriations, we had to close all 401 national parks and furlough more than 20,000 employees. Without staff or funding to ensure the safety of visitors, the security of the memorials, and the continued operation and maintenance of park facilities, the memorials on the National Mall – just like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon – are closed.”

An NPS spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Issa’s letter.