STATEMENT OF KAREN TAYLOR-GOODRICH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, VISITOR AND RESOURCE PROTECTION, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, CONCERNING S. 3096, TO AMEND THE NATIONAL CAVE AND KARST RESEARCH INSTITUTE ACT OF 1998 TO AUTHORIZE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL CAVE AND KARST RESEARCH INSTITUTE.
JUNE 17, 2008
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to present the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 3096, a bill to amend the National Cave and Karst Research Institute Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations for the National Cave and Karst Research Institute.
The Department supports S. 3096 if amended to retain a requirement that any annual appropriations to the National Cave and Karst Research Institute under this Act would still be subject to a non-federal matching requirement. S. 3096 would amend The National Cave and Karst Research Institute Act of 1998, Public Law 105-325, by striking the portion of the Act that allows the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to spend only those federal funds that are matched by an equal amount of funds from non-federal sources.
Public Law 105-325 directed the Secretary to establish the National Cave and Karst Institute near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The National Park Service (NPS) was directed to administer the Institute with one or more partners. The purposes of the Institute are to further the science of speleology, to encourage and provide public education, and to promote environmentally sound cave and karst management. An interim Director was first named in 2000 and the Institute now has a permanent Director and facilities.
Since the Institute was established, it has suffered from a provision in Public Law 105-325 that specifies that in operating the Institute, the Secretary may spend only an amount of federal funds that are matched by funds from non-federal sources. Federal funds have been interpreted to mean not only funds that are appropriated to the NPS, but also funds appropriated to other federal agencies and quasi-federal agencies.
This provision has had a chilling affect on the ability of the Institute to partner and collaborate on mutually beneficial projects and initiatives with federal agencies. Because of the matching fund language, the Institute has not submitted grant proposals to partner on cave and karst projects with the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Institute of Health, or the Department of Energy. The Institute has been advised that if it were successful in obtaining a grant from one of these agencies, it would need to find matching, non-federal monies before being able to accept and spend the federal funds.
The matching funds provision also appears to present a disincentive for federal agencies to partner with the Institute because of federal fiscal year spending limitations coupled with the additional time and lack of predictability associated with the Institute’s ability to secure non-federal matching funds. As a result, opportunities to engage in mutually beneficial projects have been passed up to the detriment of the Institute and the federal agencies.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would be happy to answer any questions you or other members of the subcommittee might have.