Hatch, Lee call on federal government to repay cost of opening Utah parks during shutdown

Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee are asking the federal government to reimburse Utah for paying to reopen national parks during last year's partial government shutdown. The National Park Access Act, introduced Tuesday, asks the federal government to reimburse six states — Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New York, South Dakota and Tennessee — that fronted the cost of reopening national parks last year. Republicans Hatch and Lee are co-sponsoring the bill with Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. Hatch said the bill gives the congressional approval the U.S. Department of the Interior needs to repay costs associated with operating the parks during the shutdown...more