Executive
Waste of the Day: Ending National Heritage Program Would Save $29 Million Annually
The federal government wastes $29 million a year on National Heritage Areas that have no consistent designation policy or procedure.
The last two U.S. presidents supported cutting funding for the National Heritage Areas created by Congress, and doing so would save $29 million, according to Citizens Against Government Waste’s annual report “Prime Cuts,” a list of recommendations to reduce the record national debt.
There are currently 62 National Heritage Areas. Not all receive federal support, but those that do received $7 million in earmarks in FY 2023, or 42.9 percent more than the $4.9 million earmarked in FY 2022.
“National Heritage Areas are places where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes,” the National Park Service website states. “Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas are large lived-in landscapes. Consequently, National Heritage Area entities collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.”
National Heritage Areas are not national park units but are operated by the National Park Service and have received 56 earmarks totaling $153.4 million since FY 2001. They have funded projects like park improvements, sports complexes, health centers, water quality monitoring, bike paths, sustainable agriculture and agricultural tourism, according to CAGW.
Each of former President Barack Obama’s budgets from FY 2011 through FY 2017 slashed funding for National Heritage Areas. The FY 2017 version of CAGW’s report recommended trimming the budget by 55 percent, from $20 million to $9 million.
The last three of former President Donald Trump’s proposed budgets called for ending the Heritage Partnership Program, which funds the areas, saving $22 million. The 2021 report noted there is no “systematic process for designating Heritage Partnership Areas or determining their effectiveness,” and made the same argument that former President Obama made in his FY 2011 budget that funding for the Heritage Partnership Program diverted resources from core National Park Service responsibilities.
Unfortunately, members of Congress ignore these proposed budget reductions that have bipartisan support.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.
This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.
Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.
Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.
The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.
Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.
Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.
Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.
Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.
In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.
Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).
Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.
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