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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives late last night in defense of his $1 million earmark for the restoration of Good Fellow Lodge at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The House defeated an amendment today to strike the funding from the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill by a vote of 123 - 305. The House subsequently passed the bill, which also contains $800,000 for waste water infrastructure in Portage, by a vote of 254 - 173. The following are Visclosky’s remarks, as delivered on the House floor:
“Madam Chair, the gentleman talked about the preservation of the Good Fellow Lodge that, as he rightfully indicated, became possessed by the National Park Service in 1977, 32 years ago. He also indicated, correctly, the deferred maintenance budget under the General Accountability Office.
“But I would point out that the $1 million designated in this bill—and I appreciate the consideration of the Chair and the ranking member for including it—goes much beyond the issue of preservation. The fact is that it has a lot to do with education.
“The installation of the water line and the subsequent restoration of the lodge would allow the Dunes Learning Center at which this lodge is located to expand their current educational program. The learning center provides valuable hands-on experience and inspires environment and environmental stewardship among the citizens of Northwest Indiana.
“Since its inception in 1998, over 48,000 students have participated in the program, including a record 5,878 last year. For these thousands of learners, the Environmental Education Center, which the Good Fellow Lodge is intended to be part of, is increasing each visitor's enjoyment and understanding of the parks and to allow visitors to care about the parks on their own terms.
“This is not just about preservation. It is also about reducing future costs for the National Park Service. The fact is that the project would reduce National Park Service maintenance and operation costs. Internal filtering and chlorination systems for the wells that are currently on site must be maintained at each site with daily and weekly sampling and expensive laboratory testing to satisfy State health standards.
“Currently, the park operates and maintains all pumps and water lines. And this project would allow the park staff to focus on other high-priority assets in the park.
“And I would also point out that it has something to do with the issue of safety. A municipal water supply line will increase supply in water pressure that will improve fire suppression for the student cabins that are at site and ensure quality of potable water consumed by the children.
“So I do think this is very deserving and goes beyond the issue of preservation.” |
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