Remember October 2013 and the federal government shutdown?
Rep. Ken Ivory does.
His HCR11 formally asks the federal government to pay back the $1 million it still owes Utah when the state government stepped in and spent $1.6 million to open the national parks in our state.
“They paid us back $600,000, but kept all the gate receipts” of folks visiting the parks for those several days, said Ivory, R-West Jordan.
House Minority Whip Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake, said she was in Washington, D.C. when the federal government shut down.
And she recalled that U.S. Mike Lee, R-Utah, helped shut down the government by participating in a boycott to extend federal spending.
Ivory tried to defend Lee’s actions by saying the Obama administration decided which government programs were kept open – and the National Park Service was not one of them.
Lee is seeking re-election this year – and the shutting down of the federal government is seen as one of his vulnerable points.
In any case, Ivory, who has no love for the federal government, listed a few things the national government has been spending money on recently, instead of paying $1 million to Utah State Government:
- $738,000 to open a pancake house in Washington, D.C., for the underprivileged.
- $30 million for Pakistani mango growers.
- $1.6 million to study the effects of alcohol on Chinese prostitutes.
- $8 million for a California study on playing video games.
- $120 million to pay retirement benefits for folks who have already died.
“We suffered $17 million in lost revenue when the federal government shut down,” said Ivory.
At the very least the feds should repay the $1 million still owed Utah, he said.
HCR11 will be sent to congressional leaders asking for action.
Don’t hold your breath, Utah.
