Glacier Park will see cuts restored

The National Park Service got a bit of a Christmas present from Congress last week. A budget deal brokered by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, will roll back sequestration cuts to the Park Service budget.

“We’re really happy that most sequester cuts have ended for the fiscal year,” said John Garder, the National Parks Conservation Association’s budget and appropriations legislative representative.

The deal would likely restore Park Service funding for the next two years to 2012 levels, erasing the 5 percent cut it saw in 2013. If a budget deal hadn’t happened, national parks like Glacier National Park might have seen an additional 3 percent cut on top of that.

The 5 percent cut last year resulted in a $683,000 reduction to Glacier Park’s $13.2 million base budget.

Montana Rep. Steve Daines voted against the new budget deal. He joined 62 other Republicans in opposing the bill, which passed, 332-94.

“While I’m encouraged by ongoing efforts to develop bipartisan proposals and commend Chairman Ryan and Chairman Murray for their work to find agreement, I am concerned that this budget proposal does not provide Montanans with a much-needed solution to our debt crisis,” Daines said in a prepared statement. “Rather than taking serious and needed steps to address Washington’s spending addiction and growing debt, this budget relies largely on spending cuts many years from now to offset immediate spending increases. We need to continue working toward real solutions that get our country back on track and ensure a better future for the next generation.”

The final numbers for the Park Service budget won’t be known until next month, when Congressional leaders divvy out the funds after the holidays.

The full Senate is expected to take up the bill this week, and President Obama said he will sign the bill if it passes.

The bill would also avert another looming government shutdown in January. The last time there was a government shutdown, Glacier Park and national parks across the country closed to the public for two weeks in October. The closure of the national parks proved very unpopular with the public.