850,000. the number of employees jumped to about 6200. to me, this is a stimulus program that is proven in the medicare -- you know, wall street got there stimulus package. this is a stainless package for people to save lives. guest: ofst: a very high percentage employment around the country is related to the healthcare industry. we talked earlier about device companies and pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies and hospitals. they employ tens of thousands, millions of people. idea that it is just about healthcare, i don't think we should be spending more on health care just to provide jobs but it certainly is a -- an

important byproduct of what's happening. host: from medicare part d, lessons learned -- you had cited crisis management teams that were created to come up with metrics to gauge progress dealing with technology glitches. how did that work? created teamsally in anticipation that we would could deale that with the problems separate from those who were having to deal with the ongoing management of the program. it turned out to be a very wise decision. just like they are experiencing now, there was a need to have people fixing software glitches. if they were the same people running the computers, they would stop doing that. we had a bouncy six weeks. -- i was a time when

in 20 states and 13 days trying to keep people calm to say we are working on fixing this so be patient. some of the same thing is going on now. we made a decision that we wanted to be transparent about the way in which we were making progress. , numbersd some metrics by which we could measure our progress. say this days we would is how we are progressing and i think it gave people a sense of comfort to know that we were disclosing where we were. it was a little like being on an airplane stuck on the tarmac. it makes you irritated but it helps when the captain comes on and says i just got a message it will be another 15 minutes. at least you know what to expect. that was my advice and "the washington post" op-ed piece i did to the administration.

i said do your best to be transparent and tell people when they will get off the tarmac. host: from twitter -- have they done an effective job selling this? guest: time will tell. we started about 15 months in inance building partnerships hundreds of communities across the country with public libraries and pharmacies and churches and shopping centers and doctors and hospitals and schools and anyone we could find who had an interest in being able to help educate a joint constituency. we then spent months and months we would goe bus -

from town to town. we have three of them going, television ads and lots of other things. we were well funded to do that. i don't know how well funded current administration is in this effort. i'm not trying to compare. aboutst saying we started 15 months in advance. i think they have chosen to do it slightly different. my guess is they will have successes in some areas and will have failures and others. it's a big job. host: during that six weeks that you are implementing medicare part d and you called it a bumpy ride, did you get an earful from the president how it was going or republican colleagues? guest: my ears were full all the time from everyone from consumers to members of congress on capitol hill and i did have some conversations with the president on the third or fourth day. it was becoming clear that things were going to be a little

on pay and he wanted to know how it was going and i gave him a regular reports. through isre going not dissimilar to what we went through. the question is not well it happened. these things are going to happen. it is how you respond to them. can you find the problems, can you fix the problems, can you finish them? i am happy to say that through that bumpy few weeks, we succeeded in smoothing it out and people were happy with the program and by the time we get into the full implementation where people had coverage, it has become an important part of people's healthcare. womanwas an 84-year-old who called earlier and talked about a pacemaker and shoulder operation. the tour that happened, they'll -- she would not have been able to have some of the medications. many people did not have medications and therefore had operations that could have been

avoided if they had the medication. dose are difficult things to and in time, we will see how the administration does with it. we also have an ongoing debate about whether or not the way it is being done is the best way to do it. host: you have called medicare part d as success in implementing it took time. did it also take democrats coming to the table to agree to change the law? uest: if you were to look back on thatperiod, the debate was almost identical but the parties were reversed. at that time, it was the democrats saying this needed to be delayed. now it is the other party doing that. the situations are a bit different. this was about prescription drugs. this is all about the insurance. it was about seniors and this is

about everybody. this is a much bigger deal. i think it is bound to create more of a stir. time, once this all settles in, there will have to be changes to this law. that does not seem to be any political construct right now for that to happen. host: rod, plainfield, indiana, independent caller. i was calling about responsibility as one of the things we always hear about with people not buying insurance and waiting until the last minute. people i've spoken to going without insurance before was not because they were not responsible but it was because they had bad experiences like family members who had paid their premiums and needed their insurance and then were denied by the company. people go bankrupt. what assurance can you give people about the penalties or mandates that will be on the insurance companies if they deny

a claim? people will buy insurance and want to make sure this claim will be paid. can you explain some of those penalties? position toot in a do any of those things because i am no longer part of the government. i'm sure there are those who are responsible, for example, to oversee the enforcement of the law. ,f there are frauds committed and there are unfortunately always people who try to take advantage of it. they need to strike quickly. if consumers feel as if they have been treated unfairly, they need to call their insurance department and ask for help or prompt call and ask for address of it. i cannot deny the fact that there are in equities and things that occur that should not. there always have been and probably always will be.

one of the things we have to do is advocate for ourselves in a system like that. host: here is a tweet -- gene kings men, ohio, republican caller. caller: i went to the cleveland clinic in 2012 with a corneal transplant. it was not an emergency room visit. ,t was with my advantage plan $350 co-pay. 10 months later, this year, i went for my second one and i should have looked closer. i knew i had 15%. i have already been billed $5,000 for the exact same surgery i had 10 months ago. huge dollarsook out of medicare to fund this. i don't think it could be or should be compared to the part d

because this was rammed through in the middle of the night by one party. yet it affects the whole country. that is totally different in my view. clinic, asleveland you probably know, is laying off many people and they say it is not entirely due to the health- care law. all i know is they are picking winners and losers. i work for 40 years and i did not retire until i was 67 years old. i have $1200 per month coming in and he said i could keep my insurance. i guess i can keep it but i have to change because it is priced out of me now. i think people need to realize that he is taking from one to payer is whatr the ultimate plan is. that's my comment, thank you very much for listening and god bless america. cogentthose are very thoughts. thank you for calling in. host: also from twitter --

host: let me go to caroline and windsor mill, maryland, democratic caller. caller: good morning and thanks for taking my call. was somehere misinformation you said regarding paying for obama care. it comes from medicare but, as you know, there are billions of dollars of uncompensated care that is currently being cared for, people who go into emergency rooms and don't have health care. part of the affordable care act will minimize the uncompensated care. there is also federal workers that will be hired. does have fraud there. host: i am running out of time but if you could respond that would be great. indicated, only a

portion was made from reductions in medicare. the caller got that correct. is being phased out as part of the affordable care act. there are problems and how the affordable care act will be paid for overtime but that will lay out. host: thank you very much for joining us and talking to our viewers. guest: thank you, i enjoyed it. good morning. host: coming up next, we will turn our attention to the national parks in this country and talk with the head of the national parks association. first, let's get a news update from c-span radio. -- at 912 a.m. eastern time democrats controlling the senate are planning to try to pass a stand-alone measure to increase the government are when cap. a spokesman says senate majority leader harry reid could unveil the measure as early as today, setting the table for a test vote later in the week. the measure is expected to provide enough borrowing room to last eons next years election election. that means it will likely permit

one dollars trillion or more in new borrowing above the current $16.7 trillion debt ceiling. at 10 a.m.convenes eastern time and you can watch it live on c-span two. turning to the capture of a long-sought terrorist, the obama administration is questioning him aboard a u.s. naval vessel instead of sending him to guantánamo they, cuba or to a secret cia black sites for interrogation. doing this preserves the government's ability to ultimately prosecute him in a civilian court. fbi's mostf the wanted terrorists and was sought for the alleged role in a 1998 almonds of u.s. embassies in africa. he was captured in a raid on saturday and is being held aboard the uss san antonio. from south korea, they report that north korea has restarted a plutonium reactor at its main nuclear facility. from two south korean

members of parliament who attended a closed-door briefing today. north korea said it would restart the reactor after tensions ran high following its but it hasar test not confirmed it has done so and those are the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> during booktv coverage of this year's national book festival, david nasa spoke about joseph kennedy. >> finally, he could not figure out whether winston churchill was teasing him or was so drunk he forgot from the day before that kennedy did not join. they just liked one another intensely but the war was. there had been intense suffering. -- heill said to kennedy held out his hand and said " i am so sorry for your loss." joe jr had died during the war.

churchill was sincere. he said to churchill," what good was it all?" looked at him on believing. world war ii had destroyed, in churchill's mind, hitler and mussolini and the dictators. it had saved democracy. it had saved western civilization so churchill thought. hatred at him. >> booktv is the only national television network and -- devoted exclusively to nonfiction books every weekend and we are marking 15 years of booktv on c-span this fall. >> " washington journal" continues. joining us now is the acting president of the national parks association. she is to talking about the shutdown on national parks. let me begin with your group and what you do and how it differs

from the national parks service. guest: thank you, with the national park observation service, we have been in existence for a most 100 years. we will celebrate our centennial in 2019 and we are a nonprofit, nonpartisan conservation organization that is dedicated to protecting our national parks. we are nongovernmental. we don't have control over the national parks, we have the ability to protect them and advocate on their behalf. you don't have control over the national parks but you can speak to the impact of the government shutdown on the part. what is it so far? guest: it's an incredibly awful situation. as your viewers know, the national parks have been suffering from under funding for several years. with the sequester, we have been seeing park closures, late openings, throughout this year. i think a great example is at

katie@national park are they normally open in mid april -- acadia park. because of the sequester cuts they were not able to open until mid-may and local businesses lost $30 million in revenue. now we will see another season. many people remember the government shutdown last time. this time, it is much worse. this is peak season for so many of the national parks. whether it is weddings, vacations, concessionaires losing millions of dollars per day, this is an incredible hit for local amenities and those that depend on the national parks. host: if you go to the npca website, you can see the running ticker of the cost of the park shut them to the local park economies. flickr pays a that you put together with photos of the shutdown at different parts. according to the national park

service -- on the 715,000 park visitors turned away, who makes that decision? guest: under the federal shut down, congress has basically shut down the federal government. what that has caused is all the national arts must close their doors. imagine, the national park service is responsible for the protection of our national parks and public safety. furlough that to 85% of their workers, they don't have the staff to keep the parks open and maintain them and provide the kind of public safety and assurances that people visiting the parks can count on.

all of the 401 national parks are required to close. host: the national park service joined us on the phone last week and talked about the decision to allow veterans access to the world war ii moral after they were not allowed to see the memorial. let's play that and have you respond. >> it is open to veterans that are arriving on the honor flights as for first amendment activities. we made the decision and the closure of the 401 national parks across the country that we would still honor first amendment activities on the national mall, on the lips, and the grounds. these are probably the most important sites for the the firstng of amendment. american citizens want to exercise that right so we needed to respect that.

we have recognized that these honor flights for our world war ii veterans are exercising their first amendment so we are allowing them in. other than that, the memorial and the other monuments are closed. host: what about his explanation? guest: i think that was so important and we were pleased to see them do that. that is such a critical thing to have world war ii vets come into washington, dc for a lifetime visit to see the memorial that honored their service and not he able to get in is outrageous. the fact that they were able to do that and dedicate the kind of support and services they needed to open that, i thought that was a great thing. host: what's the difference between that group and and a tourist exercising their rights under the constitution to go see a memorial? guest: it is a huge challenge and difficult decisions every day i'm sure the park service is making. when you have to furlough 85% of your staff, they cannot

physically open all the monuments in national parks across the country without the federal government opening. parks have already been underfunded. sequester hit very hard. they cut 13% budget cuts the last few years. withare already dealing less staff and more difficulty in managing the national parks. when you add a federal closure, houck can it possibly open the national parks across the country? host: let's hear what congressman mark sanford had to say recently talking about this shut down compared to the last time. [video clip] somet turns out there are things i did not know about the lincoln memorial. i asked a tourist to take a picture and it's an amazing picture of the lincoln memorial without people. it has always been a place for people. i did not realize that in the last government shutdown,

president clinton elected not to close down the lincoln memorial. had been realize there 17 shutdowns in this country since 1976 and not one president elected to close down the lincoln memorial. ford,eans president president carter, president reagan, president bush and president clinton each, when given the discretion in how they would handle a shutdown, chose not to hold americans hostage in somehow gaining political favor by a shutdown that would hurt them on their tour to washington, dc what i came to learn is that in the history of the american republic, the lincoln memorial has never been shot down. --shut down. my simple question is why? host: is that true? this shut down compared to the last one? guest: many of us remember a

few months ago the vandalism that occurred at the lincoln memorial. know, these monuments are susceptible to that kind of action. this post-9/11 time and the kind of barricades that exist in washington, dc, many of the monuments were barricaded because it was difficult in prior closings to have the physical structures in place now. the reality is all of these places should be open. our national parks need to be open. our monuments need to be open. the federal government needs to take action and congress and the administration to make that happen. we think it was a decision that was very difficult but it's the fact that the federal government they have not-- approved the budget in many years and we continue to see this funding impacted. lies withhe decision

the president on which memorials should be closer open? guest: the national parks service had to 85% of their staff. they don't have the staff to manage these incredible resources. their job is to protect these of us andfor all future generations and we know that the increased vandalism has begun across the country and some of the national parks because they do not have the staff there to protect them. but wedifficult decision see vandalism occur even when they are open. now you take away the kind of support and protection the park service can provide and it is a very difficult choice. took ahe house last week piecemeal approach to opening the government. one component was to fund the national parks service. did you support that legislation? guest: we need legislation that will open up the federal government and will be able to open parks permanently, not for short term or till december and then we go through this again.

the local economies, the gateway communities that depend on the national parks, the vacationers -- weddings were canceled -- people need to have certainty and we need our national parks open and funded for the long- term not a short-term solution. host: we are talking with the acting president of the national parks conference at -- conservation society who are advocates for the national parks service and not art of the parks service. she will take your questions and comments here so you can start dialing in. from twitter -- caller: i am a long-term member of your association. i started working in the itional parks in 1991 when went back to school and discovered the jobs for the does it -- the concessionaires and continued for a number of

seasons. i love the national parks. i was very concerned about the inier andat mt. ra several of the others unconcerned about the accessibility for handicapped people. time, i wouldin like to visit the parks and assess the need for improvement. how would i go about contacting you for something like that? guest: please, go to our website , there is contact information, ca.org or you can call our washington, dc headquarters. contact your members of congress. we appreciate your membership and support the contactor member of congress and encourager friends to do the same and let them know that national parks deserve to be funded. 90% of americans in a recent

poll said they believed it is a primary federal responsibility to fund the national parks and and sure that our monuments cultural resources are taken care of and we expect that as americans. these are our treasure so i would encourage all of you out there listening to please contact your members of congress and make sure they fund our federal government, our national parks, for the long-term. who belongs to the association and where do you get your money from? over 800,000e members and supporters from around the country. we are nonprofit, nongovernmental. we have many foundations and corporate support. mainly it's through the incredible members like the one we just heard from. host: columbus, ohio, democratic caller. are you with us? we don't have her.

this fromshow viewers "the washington post." why was that rejected? guest: i cannot speak to every issue because the reality is, there are 401 national parks and monuments around the country and all of them are very important. it is very difficult. they have all kinds of security issues and they have significant staffing issues with such a skeleton crew. it is very difficult to speak to every specific one. ultimately, the national park service found a way to be able to open at least a the veterans that absolutely deserve to visit a site that is honoring their incredible 2-d and service to the country. host: california next, independent caller. caller: this is bill in california. i'm a constituent of a congressman who wants to

authorize cutting trees, logging throughout yosemite national park rate i am concerned about that and i would last -- i would like to ask your view on that. guest: thank you for the call. national park service some of the highest protection of our public lands in the country. it is really an outrage when i hear a member of congress or i hear anybody suggest that these very treasures that have been laid down to be protected for all of us and future generations would consider going in and creating havoc and the damage. anybody that has spent a moment in yosemite valley or has seen the incredible majesty of that place understands the value and what that does to your soul. to think that somebody would suggest going in there to do logging and impact that area is just and comprehensible. that all of you, again, make sure you reach out to your representatives and let

them know how important the national parks are. host: denny's, in evansville, indiana, democratic caller. caller: i'm calling because i want to say that i appreciate said she was the government to get back to their pass theirtually bill they are supposed to for the long-term, not just little bitty bills they are trying to pass. i think it is really disturbing that the republicans are putting this off to a bigger problem. their job is to go in there and pass a budget and then they are supposed to get their job done. i understand they'll want to do this obamacare think which is called the or for -- affordable care act and put it in there but that has nothing to do with the budget. andlonger they stay out keep trying to pass the small bandages on this big gaping hole

in our economy, it's going to make it worse. more people need to stand up and say we need to get back in there and do our job there it if i wanted to work and i said to my boss that i cannot pass the budget we need for all of our employees, they will say i will get you out of here. i appreciate you for what you have said and for standing your ground. hostguest: thank you very much. national park service totally nonpartisan issue. republicans, democrats and independents think they should be a top priority for our country. a longublicans have history of supporting our national parks from teddy roosevelt all the way through. it is not a partisan issue. republicans and democrats love our national parks and we need to get our country moving again. we need to get the federal month

-- federal government open so the parks can be open to everybody. host: democratic caller? republican but i strongly disagree with the republican party on the issue. i think they will lead the country over a cliff. to give a little here and there is not right. do your job and pass a budget and stop fighting games of the american people and holding them hostage. because of this situation, i have now changed my party to the democratic party. i know the republicans will lose in the election because of this stuff. thank you very much. host: from twitter -- guest: the government has been forced to close federal national parks. is reason they have to because they don't have any staff to maintain them and keep them open and provide the security because of the federal shutdown. it is not something that national park service wants to

do. the national park service employees are some of the most dedicated and beloved employees of our federal government. ost: on the park advocate.org website you can find this -- in michigan, independent caller. caller: i am wondering if the national park employees that are for load are going to be paid eventually. guest: yes, it looks as though that will happen from a bill that just passed the senate and the house that would reimburse the federal workers. that is a very good thing. unfortunately, for many of the businesses that are around the national parks that are losing millions of dollars, the concessionaires alone that operate the hotels and services, are losing $5 million per day. you are looking at a huge impact for many people across the country that are suffering through this terrible shutdown. host: arlington, virginia,

independent caller. caller: good morning, i am concerned to hear that the park service already has had a cut of 13%? would a continuing resolution address that or just keep the parks at this pretty insufficient level of funding? guest: that's part of the challenge because the continuing resolution would keep them at the sequester level cuts which are having a devastating impact to our national parks. we need the federal government to open and have them pass a budget and we need to go beyond where the sequester limits were. it is having a tremendous impact on their ability to be able to operate with many visitors and parklosing early roads closed, parks not being able to open on time in season.

it is having a german is impact even when before the federal government shutdown. it is really critical they find a long-term solution for our national parks in supporting and funding them for the future. host: reno, nevada, republican caller. the other astonishing thing about national darks are the number of volunteers. maybe you have covered this. about five years ago, i heard there were at least 30,000 volunteers that give their time for the good of the national parks. that certainly helps the efficiency of the budget. guest: that is absolutely true. in fact, seasonal workers as well as volunteers and we have many senior citizens where that is one of the top volunteer activities to go into it arc and be able to spend a season and volunteer and interpretation and providing information to visitors. young people as well volunteer and a national parks fixing

trails and helping out with work. as welltremendous asset of his of friends groups across the country that raise money and provide resources for our national parks. the volunteers are critically important. be able towill never do it alone and to be able to meet the kind of needs whether it is structural as well as safety needs and other needs that cost money and require a significant federal commitment. host: let me get your response to this fox news stories -- that's just a tragedy. there is no reason that should be happening. when we hear people potential youth losing their life, it's an outrage and that public should be outraged. there is no reason that the national parks should be closed and the federal government should be close. it is -- we have watched the games go on and they need to stop. host: what role do the national

park service employees play in searching for hikers? guest: they play a critical role. the national park service police and rangers are the ones -- they have calls regularly. the director of the park service would tell you they have issues constantly that are happening in national parks whether people get lost or fall off the trail or clips or get serious injuries or sometimes fatalities and not having people on the ground that -- that cant provide the kind of protection is critical. host: here's another headline -- what types of small businesses are we talking about? guest: when people go to a park, the just don't go to the park, they could stay at a hotel or eat at a restaurant. there are souvenir stores. they are going on a boat or canoe and taking a hike. they are doing things that require them to spend other dollars am renting a car.

there are so many businesses. in a conservative estimate, we have estimated about $30 million are lost daily every day the government is close. host: pine bluff, arkansas, independent caller. to comment oned the closing of the national parks. i can understand that because of the employees that work there but let's go down to the smaller places like right here in my hometown. we have little parks on the arkansas river. nobody's ever out there. there is no employee there but they closed the gate anyway. they cut out fishing and access. it's ridiculous. i think the country is going crazy and i don't know what's going on. somebody needs to get everybody together and get this situation settled before we have a big

shutdown and this country becomes a third world country. you're absolutely right, the country needs to come together. we need congress to take action. we need the federal government open and are parks open and situations like yours are happening all over the country. much of it is safety-related. we just heard about people missing and one of our national parks. people do fall down or have injuries and things happen when they are in our national parks are you need to have staff available that can provide the kinds of backup support in emergency situations. they don't have that right now. host: we are talking about national parks and the impact of the government shutdown on them. if you live near a national park, we want to hear from you. if you have seen the impact, let us know. we have about 20 minutes left in our conversation. you can tell us about the impact of the government shutdown on you in general if you go to our website f,acebook.com.

going there.l so far, 659 people say a lot and to under 93 people are saying a little. let's go to newport news, virginia, democratic caller. caller: i want to thank the npca to them courage the creation of fort monro national monument which is the first that president obama dedicated in the last couple of years under the antiquities act. we have been talking about the beauty and the history of the national parks and the monuments can wonder if ms. pierno talk about the positive economic impact on the local economies. guest: thank you for that question. we were proud to be involved in the designation of fort monro. tubman andharriet colonel young and caesar shift as that tell a complete story of america.

i was suggest that when you look statistically, for every dollar that is spent for the national park service, it is $10 in economic benefits. we are not talking about a few million or a few hundred million. it is ultimately a billion dollars or more that is generated by national parks. over 300 million visitors just in one year visiting our national park sites. they are talking about 750,000 per day that are not being able to enter parks with disclosure. the economic impact and the multiplier effect is enormous. andink we are seeing that we are just starting to hear that. this time around, it is during peak season. the economic impact is even stronger. parks is of national incredible for businesses. i think your question is good and that's why communities,

local leaders, want national parks. they want us to open those in their community because they recognize the important economic engine that national parks are. host: a lot has been made on conservative logs and elsewhere of a quotation from one park service ranger who is quoted as saying in ", the washington times" that the chief way to deal with this is we have been told to make life is difficult for people as we can. anybody cannot imagine that works at the national park service, an employee or anybody being told to make it as difficult as possible. the people i know that work for the national parks service are the most committed and passionate people i know. they love our national parks are it nobody would tell them to make it difficult. when i hear those kind of things, it gets back into the games being played and a lot of

the hostility needs to stop. they need to stop putting the blame and move forward and get up budget and be able to open up the federal government a national parks. host: republican, allentown, pennsylvania -- caller: we just traveled over 2000 miles to visit new mexico and texas national parks and they are close. government is going to eventually pay all the people who are for love, why not let them work? don't have the money now and the commitment to be able to pay them. they don't know how long the federal government would be closed. by law, they have to be able to provide the kind of protection and safety to maintain and be able to keep our national parks open. i am so sorry for your lost rate it's what many people are experiencing around the country as well as international our country.ng to they are traveling thousands of miles. national to see these

lifetime they will be situations. i am sorry cannot see these incredible situations. host: can i ask for much you and your family spent to drive 2000 miles to get there and have the perks closed? aest: we were able to visit park in new mexico because it is partially operated by the state and local groups. there are some opportunities. spend $5,000bly over it 3-4 weeks between motels and restaurants. and activities. we have seen some beautiful scenery but not in the parks. host: mike in alabama, independent caller. upler: yes, this came politics is got to stop.

it was rumored that a public highway had cones put on the side of the road to prevent people from looking at mount rushmore. somebody had to put those comes out. you are paying people to play these games and it should stop. guest: i don't know about that particular incident but what needs to stop is the need to be able to move forward and of all of our national parks open and we need the federal government open. ofase, contact your member congress and you need them to pass a budget. host: york, pennsylvania, democratic caller -- , i wanted to make a comment about the national parks. i have high regard for all those who work for the national park service. the most favorite things i have being an american

is visiting the national parks. i live close to the gettysburg.battlefield we go there to take walks and have a good time and so on. the comment i wanted to make -- with aenior citizen senior pass which is nice. i have a 14-year-old granddaughter and i said to her other the -- earlier this year that i would like to take you on a trip somewhere in the united states and you tell me where you want to go. she chose the grand canyon. i made reservations for her and myself and her grandmother to stay there on the canyon. they were going to go later this month, maybe. we will see how this whole shutdown works out. if it doesn't, we will go another time. is theaggravating to me

national park service and even the cemetery in normandy, all these places, are closed and prohibiting people who have courageously given their all to serve their country in the armed forces. now these people are being afforded -- anyway, it's an embarrassment. how much did your hotel cost? $300 because we have the room with the deck when you look out over the canyon. will lovably will fund -- will refund your extended. the comic that -- that's not my concern. the big concern is the shutdown. here we have the national park

service and we have the national institute of health and a lot of very good institutions in the government and many people are being hurt. the poor people that need treatment and so on, more so than us that want to enjoy the parks. i thank you for your call. i hope you get there this month. if people really stand up and all of you at home make sure your voices are heard and this is not acceptable, they need to open the federal government and need to pass a budget. we cannot continue to see these games back and forth. it doesn't matter whose fault it is. at this point, everybody understands the federal government needs to open. national park service priority and other issues, our land, our water, our air -- these things are all critical. protect theeally national parks and we need the federal government open, thank

you. host: texas, independent caller -- caller: i would like to know what happens to all the fees - you are looking at 300 million people at five dollars per ahead. that's a few billion dollars. guest: the fees bring in a couple of hundred million dollars of year which is a small part of the overall budget. you're talking 401 units. not all parks charge fees were have the ability because they do not have a gate or a single entrance. as you can imagine, many of the monuments that are part of that system do not have a way of charging fees. fees at theo charge gate are able to apply them to maintenance and help to pay for the staff to maintain the parks within those parks. it's a very small portion of the overall budget. , may be moreead can be done in that area but it

is a small part the overall needs of the national parks. host: will this government shutdown give the parks and environmental respite from the many crowds of people that try to visit the areas every year every day? looking atpreciate the silver lining. if there is some silver lining toe -- we can love our parks death sometimes -- i think the reality is that it is not going to be a positive thing. our parks need to be maintained and taken care of. , theysome of the wildlife appreciate not having visitors watching them and bothering them in their daily routine, i think it will be more of a detriment than a positive. the nationalh of park service budget goes toward maintaining the parks in dealing with the amount of people that come through every day? guest: i don't have exact

numbers but there budget is such a tiny sliver of the federal budget. we are talking about a couple of billion dollars that is just a small sliver of the overall budget. they are spending hundreds of marines of dollars per year to maintain roads, maintain all the facilities. by losing those resources and not being able to move forward with those projects, it is having a significant impact. host: binghamton, new york, independent caller -- caller: if the national parks completed with almost taxpayer dollars, if the government does not want to collect fees or have people there or can afford to have people there, how can they prevent the very people that own the land which is the american people -- we are the ones that paid for the land and their job -- how can they prevent us from

using the land within the right use of the land? how can they legally prevent us? we own it. we hate for that land and we pay to keep it up in and pay for regulatory and the government official. how can they prevent the american people from using the land they own? that's my question. guest: good question. you are right -- the federal government pays through our tax dollars and we all own our national parks. there are treasures. they have not approved the budget so there is no money to pay to be able to maintain these places and to be able to keep them open. kind oft provide the safety and security that is needed when you go to a national partner in there is a whole host of issues whether it is restrooms which may seem minor. they are necessary at national parks when you have visitors coming in.

unfortunately, these things require our national parks to close like their other departments and federal agencies around the country. it is having a huge impact. it is a terrible thing and i to contact your member of congress, get involved, and make sure you let your voice be heard. the federal government needs to open so our national parks can open. host: here's one of the pictures of one of the roads closed guest: to the national parks on your website. if you don't close the parse, how do you manage the people without any staff? you can imagine how difficult it is if you are a park place or ranger and you are down to a handful of people, a skeleton crew. how can you possibly manage? you would not be able to do it

and provide the safety and security. the real issue is getting back to making sure our parks have the funding they need so they can operate effectively and managently and we can those facilities as well as to make sure that federal government opens up so that all the national parks, public lands, all the important facilities can be open to the public. host: michigan, democratic caller -- caller: i would like to thank eric guest for her service to the country. my concern is -- i live in michigan and there is several areas, thousands of acres of wildlife refuge. we have the hiawatha national forest and others. she mentioned it is a pray for the wildlife not having visitors at this present time. protected?life

we are into the archery deer season in michigan. waterfowl season is open with duck and goose hunting. i'm concerned about coaching. --poaching. nobody is watching the store so i am about game officers not being there. lifelived my whole participating in hunting and fishing. i'm older now and i cannot anymore but i still care enough for them and i am concern for their well-being. guest: thank you, sir, and we are, two. the issue you mentioned, poaching, vandalism -- there is a real danger we will see them increase. the people are not there that would normally provide the kind of security and protection from that happening. it's a real danger and that's

why we are hearing from many hunting groups, fishing groups, very concerned about the economic impact as well as the impact to the resource and the impact to the environment and the wildlife. i know i have been beating the drum but you have to get out there and we got to make it clear that this is unacceptable. onlyed come every day, not our people impacted from being able to visit this incredible treasure in our national parks but the economic impact is enormous to this country. quite frankly, that will be something that will take a long time to get akin every day this drags on, that impact gets greater and it is more challenging. host: here is a picture with a localcafe close to yosemite national park with a spray- painted sign -- springfield, virginia, independent caller. caller: thank you for having me on.

the reality is that if the senate took up the funding bill for the park service is mine, the parts would be open tomorrow. that is the truth. yourld like to hear commentators views on that. also, i am a lifelong washingtonian. the lincoln memorial has never been close to my lifetime. it is unprecedented. it is only in this administration it has happened. guest: thank you, sir. said, i think the issue of issue of itd the being a different world today post-9/11, there is more security and issues related to that. at the end of the day, we need congress to act. ableve the ability to be to make this move forward as americans. we need to speak to our members of congress in the house and senate and the to contact the president. we need to make sure they approve a budget.

until that happens and until our national parks are open, we are all going to be very concerned in having to deal with this very difficult situation. host: fort lauderdale, florida, democratic caller -- are you on the air? caller: yes, i'm concerned about the parks. it's a terrible thing they are closing the parks. the people need to come together for the betterment of the united states. do the republicans think this will eventually effect their affectsas well as it the people of united states? we made this country and we can set down a come together for the betterment of this country and not play the blame game but come together for the people of the united states. if we can't come together with their resources, that is

horrible to these third world countries and they are watching this and s government cannot come together and that makes us vulnerable to them. earlieru mentioned this but visitors from other countries come to the united states to see the national parks. do you know the number of how many foreign tourists there are that come to the parks every year? guest: it's an enormous number. of parkbably about 1/3 visitations especially in our iconic national parks. they are visiting our national parks. it is the primary place that people want to go enter national tourism when they come to this country. they want to the go to the grand canyon, yellowstone, yosemite. impact onng an travel. it's having an impact on the tourism industry, concessionaires in parks or around parks, communities. when we talk about a $30 million economy, thatthe

is a conservative number. the estimate has been higher in some evaluations. ultimately, it will have an impact. pierno is the acting president of the national parks conservation association. follow their organization online at npca.org thank you for talking to our viewers. guest: thank you very much. today'sat does it for "washington journal." the house is about to come in. we will be back tomorrow morning. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. e clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., october 8, 2013. i hereby appoint the honorable