THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 27, 1994 TAG: 9406270098
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: 940627 LENGTH: GALAX
Others in the House say it is simple pork-barrel politics.
{REST} Whatever the case, the $5 million for the building of the center remained in the Department of Interior budget after a House vote last week.
``I am very optimistic that the Senate will agree with this action, and we will be able to begin construction next year,'' Boucher said after House members beat back an amendment cutting out Boucher's project and two others by a 282-146 margin.
The region and its music represent a cultural resource that deserves an interpretive center, Boucher said. Many musicians still live in the region, which boasts an annual international old-time fiddlers convention.
Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., was against the idea.
``In the past few years, I've become concerned about what we're asking the Park Service to do. . . . This is just one more example of pork politics and why our deficit is hopelessly out of control,'' he said.
``The only business the Park Service should be in is protecting and interpreting sites important to the natural and cultural heritage of this country. I don't think a mountain music center fits into this category,'' he said.
by CNB