Rep. Calls for Probe of Palin Tour's Park Costs

(Newser) – With budget cuts looming and a huge backlog of maintenance work, the National Park Service shouldn't be spending its money hosting Sarah Palin's self-promoting bus tour, complains a congressman from Oregon. Palin and her One Nation bus tour soak up far more resources at historic sites than the average family could expect, including private tours and security escorts made up of park rangers, says Democrat Rep. Earl Blumenauer. He has called on the Park Service to account for the federal resources spent on Palin.

"If it’s a private family vacation, what in the world are we doing getting people in with preferential early admission and having an entourage of public employees? It looks like a political stunt, and Palin Inc. ought to pay for it," Blumenauer tells ABC News. A Park Service spokesman says the Palins are treated like "any other celebrity that might come in," comparing the treatment the Alaskan family has received at national monuments to what they might do for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.