Val T. Hoyle

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5063 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to address lifeguard staffing shortages at Federal beaches by entering into agreements with local governments to ensure continuity of staff and proper lifeguard coverage. This measure would apply to beaches managed by the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Under these agreements, State and local governments are authorized to hire lifeguards to cover shifts at Federal beaches. Lifeguards perform vital public safety services. While this bill provides a mechanism to prevent empty chairs, relying on local municipalities should not become a permanent Band-Aid for understaffed Federal agencies. We can't lose sight of why, one of the key reasons why, we lack enough lifeguards in the first place: the DOGE effort dedicated to firing park workers, implementing hiring freezes, and gutting our Federal agencies. Last summer, fewer than half of the 7,700 seasonal National Park Service positions, including lifeguards, were filled. These cuts forced Federal managers to scramble, leaving communities to step in and fund these critical positions--also putting lives in danger. As a reminder, the National Park Service has lost nearly 25 percent of its permanent workforce since the beginning of 2025 due to this administration's firing of park staff and slashing agency budgets. While local agreements offer emergency relief--and I am very much in support of this bill--a real priority should be rebuilding a fully funded, fully staffed Federal workforce that is focused on efficiency and getting the job done while we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.