Republican legislators have written a letter accusing the Obama administration of barricading open-air monuments in Washington D.C. in order to make a political point during the government shutdown, according to Fox News.
A group of World War II veterans from Mississippi were visiting the capital on Tuesday, the first day of the government shutdown, and when they went to visit the World War II Memorial they found that it was barricaded. In what Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., called "the best civil disobedience we've seen in Washington for a long time" the veterans pushed aside the barricades so they could walk along the memorial.
One of the most visible effects of the government shutdown has been the closing of all National Parks, including the monuments in the capital.
Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee have written a letter asking National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis to retain all documents related to the closure of the monuments in order to determine if they were closed for political reasons, Fox News reports.
"The Park Service's decision to barricade the open-air memorials from veterans and other Americans flies in the face of common sense, given their interest in visiting memorials that honor their service and sacrifice to the country," the letter said.
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., gave an emotional speech on the Capitol steps on Wednesday denouncing the closures, according to the National Review.
"These properties belong to the American people," Kelly said. "They do not belong to a political party. There is no reasons to ever shut those folks out from that."
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has offered to pay for five guards to watch the memorial so that it can be kept open to the public, according to Fox News.
"The Obama administration has decided they want to make the government shutdown as painful as possible, even taking the unnecessary step of keeping the Greatest Generation away from a monument built in their honor," Priebus said.
Mo Elleithee, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, suggested a different way to keep the monument open; by ending the shutdown.
"We've already been working on a plan to open the memorial - and the entire government - after the GOP caused them to close," Elleithee said. "It's called a clean funding resolution, and it sounds like the votes are there if the Speaker would just call for a vote. It would save the economy a lot of money and get the memorial and government open a whole lot faster."
