National Park Service (NPS) superintendents now must adhere to agency-prescribed "talking points" when speaking with the media. According to a May 12 press release by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the talking points try masking budget cutbacks by painting a rosy picture of national parks under the Bush administration. The talking points specifically refer to budget cuts as "service level adjustments." Sample sound bites read, "Clear Skies should do for visibility in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park what the Acid Rain Trading Program did for acid rain reductions in the Adirondacks," or the "Administration is very committed to preserving the resources of the National Park System." If a Park Service employee wants to divulge information beyond the prescribed points, then the information must be "blessed" by the regional or federal offices. PEER executive director Jeff Ruch characterized the talking points as "nothing new" but said the gag order accompanying the script is a recent change. In PEER's press release he states, "The reason that feel-good institutions like national parks have turned into bad-news bears for the Bush Administration is solely because of misplaced attempts like this one to suppress facts, hide problems and spread disinformation." Last December, NPS placed the U.S. Park Police Chief on administrative leave after she discussed the problem of low staffing levels in an interview with the Washington Post. She is currently not allowed to give media interviews without official clearance. The budget cuts which the talking points are designed to glaze over received additional attention last week when the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees released a report revealing massive NPS budget cuts. The report was based on information leaked by insiders from 12 U.S. parks and refutes recent statements by NPS director Fran Mainella that parks would not face budget cuts this summer.