House Appropriations Chairman Livingston Tuesday blasted Interior Secretary Babbitt for attacking appropriators' actions on the Interior spending bill.
"You accused this Congress of cutting funding for the National Park Service on the same day that the House of Representatives approved a $100 million increase for the operation of the National Parks," Livingston said in a letter to Babbitt.
Livingston charged that under Babbitt's leadership, the Interior Department "has shown an incredible lack of management in the parks."
He said under Democratic leadership the Interior Department has emphasized land acquisition, while ignoring maintenance.
"The parks are in their current state of difficulty because you and your predecessors have not taken care of the lands under your jurisdiction and have not instituted appropriate management controls," Livingston said.
He criticized Babbitt's comments on endangered species and Native American programs.
"I am personally affronted with the way you have played fast and loose with the facts in what appears to be a blatantly political ploy to discredit the Appropriations committees," Livingston wrote.
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