Val T. Hoyle

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Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4931 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend certain leases within the National Park System unit without opening those leases to another public bidding process. Under the bill, the lease could be extended without rebidding if the lease has been in place for at least 5 years, the tenant is complying with the terms of the existing lease, and the National Park Service determines that the extension is consistent with the purposes of the park unit. The National Park Service manages approximately 160 leases covering more than 340 structures. This leasing authority has helped the service put underutilized historic properties to use through public-private partnerships while directing lease revenues toward historic preservation, infrastructure, and maintenance. As introduced, this legislation raised serious concerns. Current law requires a public competitive bidding process and fair market value, helping ensure that taxpayers receive a fair return on public assets and that businesses have a fair opportunity to compete. It also contains no limits on the length of an extension or the number of times the lease could be renewed, creating the risk of a continuous cycle of extensions that effectively locks out the competition. Those concerns were addressed during the Natural Resources Committee markup, with technical assistance from the National Park Service. The amended bill limits the authority to a single extension and makes it clear the total term of the lease cannot exceed the existing 60-year regulatory limit. That includes the extension. These guardrails are important. We should make sure the Park Service has the flexibility it needs to manage these properties well, while also protecting competition, transparency, and the interests of the American taxpayer. As we have learned from the President's use of no-bid contracts for the Reflecting Pool and the suspension of leases for Federal golf courses in D.C., we need to ensure robust statutory guardrails. The national park leasing authority is a successful program, but it cannot be a back door that leads to the privatization of our national parks. Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsor of the bill for working in a bipartisan way to address the concerns that many of us had, and I reserve the balance of my time.