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As proposed, the Bush administration's fiscal year 2005 operating budget request for the National Park Service will not make much progress in improving this situation. While including an increase of 4.5 percent over the previous year, it provides only a few parks with base increases and does not include funding for uncontrolled costs such as inflation and salary increases - further eroding park budgets.
Additionally, Congress and the administration are considering possible new budget caps proposed for discretionary domestic spending in forthcoming years. If enacted, the caps, under the administration's proposed levels, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, will cut spending for national park operations, construction, and maintenance by more than $800 million below baseline over five years. This would effectively gut the number of dedicated staff working in parks, dramatically worsen the backlog of park maintenance projects, and lead potentially to temporary and permanent closures of park areas and entire park sites.
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