The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, led by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), will hold an oversight hearing on "Restoring the Federal Public Lands Workforce." The purpose of the hearing is to examine issues related to the morale and effectiveness of employees of the US Forest Service (FS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and National Park Service (NPS). The hearing will review agency efforts to improve employee recruitment, satisfaction, and retention and explore the need for additional efforts in these areas. The hearing will also review the Department of the Interior's progress at improving its law enforcement programs, particularly the United States Park Police.
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Subject:
House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Oversight Hearing on "Restoring the Federal Public Lands Workforce"
When:
Thursday, March 19, 2009, at 10:00 a.m.
Where:
Room 1324
Longworth House Office Building
Witnesses:
Panel 1
Hank Kashdan
Associate Chief
Forest Service
Department of Agriculture
Daniel N. Wenk
Acting Director
National Park Service
Department of the Interior
Accompanied by:
Mr. Michael Nedd
Acting Deputy Director
Bureau of Land Management
Department of the Interior
Panel 2
Kevin Simpson
Executive Vice President
Partnership for Public Service
Washington, DC
Ron Thatcher
President, Forest Service Council
National Federation of Federal Employees
Libby, MT
Bill Wade
Chair, Executive Council
Coalition of National Park Service Retirees
Tucson, AZ
Elaine Downing
Vice President, Union 2152 (California BLM employees)
National Federation of Federal Employees
Needles, CA
George Leonard
National Association of Forest Service Retirees
Fairfax, VA
Panel 3
Jim Austin
Chairman
US Park Police Labor Committee
Washington, DC
John Waterman
President,
Fraternal Order of Police, National Park Rangers Lodge
Twain Harte, CA
Accompanied by:
George Durkee
Vice President
Fraternal Order of Police,
National Park Rangers Lodge
Opening Statement:
Chairman Raul Grijalva