Let the shutdown-related congressional investigations begin.
With the shutdown of the federal government barely a week old House of Representatives Republicans took the first steps towards investigating the closures of the memorials on Washington's National Mall - including the World War II Memorial.
Reps. Doc Hastings of Washington, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Rob Bishop of Utah, chair of the House Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation fired off a letter Wednesday to National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis instructing him "not to destroy" documents related to the closures.
"The Committee is also considering conducting an oversight hearing in the near future to better understand the Park Service's closures, as well as the resources and staff used to erect physical barriers to keep out veterans and other staff members of the American public from visiting these open-air sites," Hastings and Bishop wrote.
"The World War II Memorial and other open-air sites are ordinarily accessible to visitors 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, and are normally staffed by Park Service rangers only from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., with visitors able to tour the sites throughout the day night," the letter continued. "However, the Park Service has now determined these sites must be closed to all visitors at all times due to the lapse in appropriations."
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