In the year 2000, George W. Bush promised to completely eliminate the $4.9 Billion backlog of maintenance orders at the National Park Service. In a declaration of National Park Week in April 2004, he still boasted about that campaign promise. But in a report to Congress on September 27, 2003, the General Accounting Office estimates that the backlog of maintenance orders at the National Park Service had surpassed $5 Billion. By 2007, the National Park Service estimated that the backlog had reached $8 Billion.
(Sources: Presidential Proclamation of National Park Week, April 16, 2004; Statement of Barry T. Hill, Director Natural Resources and Environment, before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands, September 27, 2003; Statement of Bill Wade, Chair, Executive Council, Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, August 2, 2007)
Oh, it’s just the environment and irreplaceable pristine land – nobody cares about that stuff. Hey what’s on TV?!