Unconstitutional?

This is just crazy. Utah Congressman, Bob Bishop, is also the chair of the House subcommittee on that oversees national parks and other federal lands. The only problem, though, is he said it's unconstitutional for the federal governement to own those lands. Although he would like to see most federal lands in the West turned over to the states, he said the federal government can keep them because "they're not moneymakers anyway." It gets even better. The congressman went on to say to Think Progress, a nonpartisan arm of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, that he supported mining near the Grand Canyon and thinks that neither the water nor tourists would be affected by it.

Ok, what? It sounds to me like this guy is worried about who controls the national parks but, at the sametime is not. It really doesn't make sense to me at all! I did a little research and found some interesting points on how much Americans gave to philanthropic causes, including the national park system; according to the National Park Service and the American Association of Fundraising Counsel:

• Americans gave over $290.89 billion to their favorite causes in 2010 (including national parks) 
• Total giving, when adjusted for inflation, was up 3.8 percent
• Gifts from individuals represented 73 percent of all contributed dollars, a slight increase from 2009 figures

I think Bob Bishop needs to check his information again. National parks make a lot more money than he thinks and they are much more important than he believes. Why is he the chairman of this subcommittee in the first place? Congrats to Rep. Bob Bishop of Utah for getting my Oops Award of the week!