On Wednesday, October 2, 2013, the House will consider H.J.Res.70, the Open Our National Parks and Museum Act, under a rule. The joint resolution was introduced by Mr. Simpson, Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on October 1, 2013.
The Open Our National Parks and Museum Act provides immediate funding for (1) National Park Service Operations, (2) the Smithsonian Institution, (3) the National Gallery of Art, and (4) the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at the same rate and under the same conditions as in effect at the end of the just completed fiscal year. Funds are available until another appropriations bill (such as regular bill or CR) is enacted for these operations or December 15, 2013.
Funding for the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are contained in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. On October 1, 2013, a lapse in federal funding resulted in a federal government shut down. Included in the closures are the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Holocaust Museum. According to reports, more than 401 federally run parks and attractions across the country and the Smithsonian Institutions’19 museums and galleries will be impacted by the government shutdown.[1]
CBO reported that enacting H.J.Res. would result in a budget authority of $3.04 billion.