Among the last-minute changes to House Republicans’ legislation to raise the debt ceiling that they hope to pass Wednesday is an amendment clawing back $200 million for a park in former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district.
The funding is at the center of a GOP investigation after the National Park Service revealed Interior Department officials ordered the tranche be directed for park maintenance to the Presidio, a national park bordering the water on the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge that includes a golf course, luxury hotels, retail stores and museums.
The amendment stripping the funding, which was appropriated last year under Democrats’ tax and climate spending law known as the Inflation Reduction Act, was part of a series of last-minute changes in House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt limit proposal to win over GOP holdouts. The California Republican is struggling to cobble together enough votes in his slim four-seat majority to pass the measure Wednesday afternoon that would avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debt.
National Park Service Director Charles F. Sams testified to Congress last week that Interior Department officials ordered $200 million to Presidio Trust, a federal agency to preserve the park, despite the money not being specifically allocated for the project by Congress. The move marked a departure from agency norms by designating such a large chunk of overall park maintenance funding to a project not sanctioned by Congress, Mr. Sams acknowledged.
Total deferred maintenance and repairs in national parks across the country tops $22 billion. Congress doled out roughly $1.5 billion for this fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, meaning the $200 million for the Presidio siphoned 13% of total park maintenance funding.
Mrs. Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Republicans trying to revoke the money.
She made several unsuccessful attempts in previous years to appropriate the $200 million to the Presidio.
“I want to assure you that we follow the law on every single thing that we do,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland testified last week to the House Natural Resources Committee. “I cannot speak to the specifics of the situation at this time.”
The panel’s chairman, GOP Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, suggested the money was pork-barrel spending for the longtime House Democratic leader.
“The perception is that this was a payoff to Speaker Pelosi,” Mr. Westerman said.
House Republicans’ debt limit proposal is not expected to become law but is rather part of an effort to force Senate Democrats and President Biden to the negotiating table to avert default in the coming months.
As a result, Mrs. Pelosi’s Presidio funding will remain — at least for now.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
Source:Washington Times
