This is the Administration's reply to Congress about the studies to
outsource NPS archeologists.
                                                    
                                                    
                                                    
       July 16, 2003                                
                                                    
                                                    
       White House threatens veto of Interior       
       bill over provision                          
                                                    
                                                    
       By Jason Peckenpaugh                         
       [log in to unmask]                     
                                                    
                                                    
       The White House threatened to veto the       
       Interior appropriations bill late            
       Wednesday over a provision that would halt   
       funds for competitive sourcing at the        
       Department of Interior and Forest Service    
       in fiscal 2004.                              
                                                    
                                                    
       In a statement of administration policy,     
       the White House said senior advisors would   
       recommend that President Bush veto the       
       Interior bill if it includes the             
       provision, which is Section 335 in the       
       House version of the bill. The full House    
       is scheduled to take up the Interior bill    
       on Thursday. Bush has not vetoed an          
       appropriations bill to date.                 
                                                    
                                                    
       "Prohibiting funding for public-private      
       competitions is akin to mandating a          
       monopoly regardless of the impact on         
       services to citizens and the added costs     
       to taxpayers," said the administration.      
                                                    
                                                    
       House Republicans will try to defeat the     
       measure on the House floor tomorrow. Rep.    
       Pete Sessions, R-Texas, will offer an        
       amendment to strike Section 335 from the     
       bill on Thursday, according to spokeswoman   
       Gina Carty. "Congressman Sessions has a      
       long history of being interested in          
       government efficiency, and one of the        
       primary ways to achieve that is through      
       public-private competition," she said.       
                                                    
                                                    
       Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va., and Charles          
       Taylor, R-N.C., who chairs the               
       appropriations subcommittee where Section    
       335 originated, also have been active in     
       negotiations over the measure.               
                                                    
                                                    
       Environmental groups, including the          
       National Parks Conversation Association,     
       and federal labor unions support keeping     
       Section 335 in the Interior bill.            
                                                    
          Brought to you by GovExec.com             
                                                    





  Catherine Holder Spude ¨ Archeologist ¨ Cultural Resources Management ¨
    National Park Service ? Intermountain Region ¨ 505.988.6831Voice ¨
                             505.988.6876 Fax


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              people so that all may experience our heritage.