Celeste Maloy Praises Efforts To Celebrate American History And 'Make It Accessible To People'

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During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing before the Congressional recess, Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) asked Managing Director of the Utah Office of Tourism and Film Commission Natalie Randall about the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States.

Transcript

00:00For questions, Ms. Malloy.

00:02Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:04Ms. Randall, thank you for being here today.

00:07Excuse me.

00:08I know you represent the Utah tourism industry,

00:11and the STARS Act is going to impact all of the states

00:15because we're talking about all the national parks.

00:17But could you just talk a little bit about what role national parks play

00:20in connecting visitors with the historical significance of America's founding

00:25and our history and our unique landscapes and places?

00:30Of course, thank you, Congresswoman, for the question.

00:33In Utah specifically, in 1776, you mentioned this,

00:40but two Franciscan fathers came, friars, I should say,

00:45came into our state, Dominguez and Escalante, on an expedition.

00:49They were traveling from Santa Fe and explored through Utah, Colorado, and Arizona,

00:55and eventually returned back to New Mexico, not finding a clear path forward.

00:59It was September and October of that year that they did that.

01:03And honestly, the landscapes haven't changed much from the time that they were in our state,

01:08which is now known as Utah at the time.

01:11They experienced interactions with Native American communities.

01:14They experienced interactions with the landscapes.

01:16And those are the interactions, as you mentioned earlier,

01:19that we see as the opportunity to allow for all Americans and international visitors

01:26that are coming into our state to experience

01:27and help them understand the history of these landscapes

01:31and see that through the eyes of the beautiful landscapes we have,

01:35both in Utah and across the country.

01:39And on a related note, can you talk a little bit about how granting everyone access to the parks

01:47can help bring some of the underserved communities

01:50and people who are not traditionally in the parks

01:54into the celebration of America's birthday?

01:56Of course.

01:57Many individuals in underserved communities

02:00don't have the opportunity to experience the outdoors.

02:03We know nationwide that there have been issues with depression

02:09and various other things, and we know in Utah specifically

02:12that getting outside, and in Utah, one of the things that we're doing

02:17to celebrate America 250 is Walk 250.

02:20Experiencing the outdoors is extremely healing.

02:23And so the opportunity of this allows for anyone of any walk of life

02:29to be able to come into any national park in our nation

02:31and experience an opportunity that is truly life-changing.

02:36We've had the opportunity to do that in Utah,

02:38and I think sometimes maybe we take it for granted,

02:40but so many other individuals that I meet in my role

02:43have never had that opportunity to even see a dark sky,

02:47and it's truly transformational.

02:50I agree, and I really hope people will take advantage of this opportunity,

02:54whether it's going to a historic site

02:56or going to a landscape park

03:00to just find something new

03:02that they didn't know about the United States

03:04or didn't have the opportunity to appreciate before,

03:07and thank you for being here to testify.

03:11I don't have very much time left,

03:13so I just want to thank the other three of you for being here.

03:18I love history.

03:19I love reading history.

03:21I talk about John Quincy Adams

03:24whenever I do a night tour of the Capitol with constituents,

03:27and I really appreciate the work that all of you are doing

03:29to help preserve our history in this country

03:32and make it accessible to people who want to study it

03:36or maybe even people who don't know they want to study it

03:38until they stumble across a monument

03:40and learn about the Roses during World War II.

03:43Or, sorry, something about Winston Churchill,

03:46who, while he's not an American,

03:48is responsible for a lot of the freedom in this world,

03:51and I love that we're celebrating his American connections

03:55and the debt that we owe Winston Churchill,

03:58who's a fascinating kind of a complicated figure, multifaceted,

04:03and I think even studying that is helpful and instructive

04:06for us moving forward,

04:07that people in history have complicated lives

04:11and they can still go forward and do amazing things,

04:14and I hope as we're celebrating the 250th birthday of our country,

04:17we celebrate that about ourselves

04:20and other people around the world

04:22who are trying to make a difference.

04:23So thank you all for being here.

04:24Thank you for being involved,

04:25and I'm about out of time, so I will yield back.

04:28Gentle lady yields.

04:29Gentle lady yields.

04:30Gentle lady yields.

04:33Gentle baby yields.

04:34ند as her father said,

04:35so I think it's all that means

04:36let's take this.

04:36Gentle ladyele yields.

04:38Gentle lady yields.

04:39Gentle lady yields.

04:41Gentle lady yields.

04:47Go big, who's the middle,

04:48and let them go up to fiveетр foot

04:55and get them to you at 해야 of.

04:55For some?

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