What. A. Shame. Well, we are fighting a war right now. Got to get rid of the non essentials... I think the saddest parts are the the gift we recieved from China that we can't afford to install, and the potential for closures on the weekend(!).
This is very sad. I visit the arboretum every weekend. Do tai chi and walk. A ten minute drive and you are in the country - ok, an idealized country landscape - a bit frayed at the edges. Such a relief from being penned in the city.
I just wrote a long clarification that then accidentally got deleted, but the short version is this:
The article is somewhat alarmist. This is what happens all the time - the President's proposed budget shorts something, advocates come to the Hill and argue for its importance, Members of Congress write to the appropriate House and Senate subcommittees asking for full funding, funding gets restored, either fully, in part, or occasionally even more than was asked for.
This is only a starting point, and a starting point from which the end point is often very very far.
Arboretum advocates have already been on the Hill, and both House and Senate side letters have gone to the relevant Approps subcommittees asking that the proposed arboretum funding cut be eliminated.
Whatever route the FY09 budget process takes (the appropriations process may fail and an omnibus spending bill or continuing resolution may be used in its place), it's far too early to worry about this - I would be surprised if the cut went through.
That said, if you're registered out of District, it's not a bad time to call your representatives and tell them to support full funding for the Arboretum. Just don't tell them you live in the District.
Better yet, someone will get it funded via the earmark process. That way we get to hear some mouth-breathing pinhead (R-Turdville) railing about it as a gross example of government waste and inefficiency.
7 comments:
This is a real bummer for our neighborhood. Its a wonderful place to walk with your pup, have a picnic and stop to smell the roses.
What. A. Shame. Well, we are fighting a war right now. Got to get rid of the non essentials... I think the saddest parts are the the gift we recieved from China that we can't afford to install, and the potential for closures on the weekend(!).
This is very sad. I visit the arboretum every weekend. Do tai chi and walk. A ten minute drive and you are in the country - ok, an idealized country landscape - a bit frayed at the edges. Such a relief from being penned in the city.
This is so sad and just a reminder of how much our government has been gutted on every level.
It's a good time to join the Friends of the National Arboretum!
http://www.fona.org/
I just wrote a long clarification that then accidentally got deleted, but the short version is this:
The article is somewhat alarmist. This is what happens all the time - the President's proposed budget shorts something, advocates come to the Hill and argue for its importance, Members of Congress write to the appropriate House and Senate subcommittees asking for full funding, funding gets restored, either fully, in part, or occasionally even more than was asked for.
This is only a starting point, and a starting point from which the end point is often very very far.
Arboretum advocates have already been on the Hill, and both House and Senate side letters have gone to the relevant Approps subcommittees asking that the proposed arboretum funding cut be eliminated.
Whatever route the FY09 budget process takes (the appropriations process may fail and an omnibus spending bill or continuing resolution may be used in its place), it's far too early to worry about this - I would be surprised if the cut went through.
That said, if you're registered out of District, it's not a bad time to call your representatives and tell them to support full funding for the Arboretum. Just don't tell them you live in the District.
Better yet, someone will get it funded via the earmark process. That way we get to hear some mouth-breathing pinhead (R-Turdville) railing about it as a gross example of government waste and inefficiency.
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