McClintock: Government Shutdown Will Not Close Yosemite

Sonora, CA — Citing the economic blow to the park the last time a shutdown took place during the Obama administration, Mother Lode Congressman Tom McClintock swears not to let that happen again.

With a shutdown looming, McClintock blasted Obama for deliberately ordering the closing of the park in 2013. The District Four congressman vows these tactics will not be used again as he has been reassured by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke the entrance gates to the Yosemite will not come down if a shutdown is not averted by midnight tonight. McClintock indicates that contingency plans for businesses in the park are currently being worked out by National Park Service officials.

Below is McClintock’s entire statement:

The House yesterday passed a bill to continue to fund the government through February 16th to accommodate ongoing discussions over budget caps, immigration policy and other issues.  If Senate Democrats use the Senate cloture rule to prevent the bill from being taken up, the government will shut down at midnight on January 19th.

The vendors, visitors and gateway communities to our national parks suffered enormously during the government shutdown in 2013 because of deliberate actions by the Obama administration.  The administration ordered businesses in the parks to cease operations, cancelled long-standing tourist reservations, barricaded park entrances and even blocked turn-out lanes overlooking the Yosemite Valley.   The shutdown required none of these measures.

I have received assurances from the Secretary of the Interior that these tactics will not be repeated by the Trump administration.  Entrances to the parks will remain open and businesses within the parks may continue to operate under contingency plans now being finalized with the Park Service.  The medical clinic at Yosemite Valley will remain open and public safety personnel will remain on duty.  Reservations will continue to be honored at concession venues and the parks will be administered with the objective of causing the least inconvenience and discomfort to park visitors.