WASHINGTON – For every dollar the government spends preventing wildfire damage, it could save cash-strapped agencies like the Forest Service another $5 on fighting increasingly large fires, a Senate committee was told Tuesday.

Tusayan Mayor Greg Bryan told House lawmakers Wednesday that closing Grand Canyon National Park has devastated his town’s economy, and he criticized federal government officials for not acting sooner to reopen it.

The Department of Mines and Minerals, a state agency that's been around since the 1930s, will shut down for good Friday due to a lack of funding, its director said.

More committees mean more people divvying up the work, ostensibly making for an efficient legislative process.