Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonpartisan group that investigates claims from government employees about environmental misconduct, on Thursday released documents detailing contract agreements and budget calculations for the events.
The official National Park Service charity, the National Park Foundation, helped run the Freedom 250 events.
Its budget estimate, obtained by PEER, showed the events — including the Great American State Fair, the Patriot Games and the Independence Day Celebration at the National Mall — should have cost around $128 million, funded by an expected $100 million from Congress and $14 million in federal grant money specifically for the Mobile Museum, which sent “Freedom Trucks” carrying a curated story of American independence across the country.