09.27.19

Hoeven to Host Interior Secretary Bernhardt in Medora Region Next Thursday

Senator Will Highlight National Park Maintenance Needs, Plans for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

MEDORA, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Appropriations Committee, today announced that on Thursday, October 3, he will host Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in the Medora region where he will highlight maintenance needs at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and efforts to establish the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Hoeven invited Bernhardt to the state as part of his efforts to address deferred maintenance in the National Park System (NPS) and to secure support for the new library. Hoeven will hold a media availability with Secretary Bernhardt that morning in Bismarck, prior to leaving for Medora.

“The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library project is a great opportunity for North Dakota to preserve the life of a president who was shaped by our state,” said Hoeven. “That’s why we want to highlight the effort to Secretary Bernhardt to make sure he and his team are on board to help. At the same time, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park has some real maintenance needs that have gone unaddressed. We will outline our local priorities for the secretary and discuss our work to ensure NPS has the resources it needs to overcome this backlog around the nation.”

The senator previously secured commitments from the National Park Foundation President and the NPS Director to support the library’s development. The senator is also working to advance legislation like the Restore our Parks Act, which would use excess revenues from energy development on federal lands to address the maintenance backlog at the NPS, and has secured increased funding in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2020 funding legislation for NPS construction and maintenance.

Hoeven will also join Secretary Bernhardt and Senator Kevin Cramer on Wednesday, October 2.

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