{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-demands-federal-review-of-crater-lake-concessionaire-contract", "Wyden Demands Federal Review of Crater Lake Concessionaire Contract", "2023-12-11", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Ron Wyden", "W000779", "www.wyden.senate.gov", "wyden", "https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Senator: Aramark\u2019s failure to live up to its contractual agreements threatens safety of world-renowned national park, its visitors and employees\n\nWashington D.C.\u2014U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he is asking federal officials to act immediately to prevent concessionaire mismanagement from continuing to pose safety risks to Crater Lake National Park, its visitors, and the employees who live and work at this world-renowned natural treasure in southern Oregon.\n\n\u201cThe annual concessionaire assessments paint a troubling picture of the concessionaire\u2019s fulfillment of its important responsibilities at Crater Lake National Park over several years,\u201d Wyden wrote in a letter to National Park Service Director Charles F. \u201cChuck\u201d Sams III,. \u201cThe National Park Service records make it clear that the concessionaire has continually failed to fulfill the requirements of the contract.\u201d\n\nIn his letter, Wyden wrote that Aramark \u2013 doing business as Crater Lake Hospitality \u2013 has failed under its concessionaire contract with the National Park Service to perform contractually required maintenance and has created unsafe living conditions for staff.\n\nWyden\u2019s letter also cited diesel spills at contractor-managed facilities, malfunctioning fire alarm systems and unsatisfactory public health inspections. And it noted the lack of investment and deferred maintenance by the concessionaire has prevented progress on a number of maintenance and improvement projects that the National Park Service has approved.\n\n\u201cAfter becoming aware of these issues, I directed my staff to conduct an in-person assessment of the conditions at facilities within Crater Lake National Park,\u201d Wyden wrote. \u201cThe issues that staff observed during this visit have only served to solidify my understanding of the seriousness of the concessionaire\u2019s failure to plan for and perform important regular maintenance, adequately train staff and address issues that directly threaten safety. \u201c\n\n\u201cIt was apparent to my staff that the dedicated National Park Service staff were spending hours of their time trying to manage the situation, are deeply concerned with the safety issues for guests and employees, and share our values of protecting the park,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI am grateful to the National Park Service staff for their dedication to our public lands. It is clear they have prevented the situation from becoming significantly worse through their efforts.\n\n\u201cDespite repeated and documented attempts by the National Park Service to secure performance, it is clear that little progress has been achieved to meaningfully resolve most of these serious issues,\u201d Wyden wrote.\n\nThe entire letter is here.\n\nRelated Files", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:56:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-demands-federal-review-of-crater-lake-concessionaire-contract"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8261413313448429, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}