Congressman Frank Pallone is sounding the alarm over what he calls a dangerous lifeguard shortage at Sandy Hook and other federally run beaches.

With peak summer crowds at the state's national parks and no response to his initial cry for help, he's now ramping up pressure on federal officials.

Ted Goldberg reports on his plan to push for action before it's too late.

I don't know that there's anybody in Congress, Democrat or Republican, that feels that we should be skimping on health and safety.

And that's what I fear is happening here.

Sandy Hook's beaches bring in a lot of sunbathers and a lot of swimmers.

But Congressman Frank Pallone is concerned that there aren't enough lifeguards to keep them safe.

And he puts blame squarely on the Trump administration after their efforts to shrink the federal workforce.

This was DOGE.

This was a hiring freeze.

And many people who had applied and go back every year were told we're not hiring this year.

The money was allocated by Congress.

The lifeguards are willing to work.

They're not being hired.

And people are still paying the fee.

If you go to Sandy Hook, you still have to pay.

Pallone wrote a letter to the Department of the Interior criticizing the mass layoffs, saying in part, "The cumulative impact of these policies have left Gateway National Recreation Area with a skeleton crew to run the fourth most visited National Park Service unit in the country.

There have been drowning incidents at Sandy Hook when the beaches are not open and fully staffed with lifeguards.

We cannot let this situation repeat itself this summer, though I am concerned your disregard for the vital health and safety roles that NPS staff play may result in tragedy at Sandy Hook."

Pallone wrote that on June 9th and says not only has he not heard back, but he hasn't been told about staffing levels for lifeguards at Sandy Hook.

We asked a Gateway spokesperson if swimming has been affected there and for updated numbers of lifeguards working there, and we did not get a response.

People go to Sandy Hook and they're going to swim.

They'll go to a protected beach if they can, but if they can't because there's no lifeguard, then they're just going to swim anyway.

And yeah, of course we've had drowning.

There's a real potential for that to occur.

The amount of risk that we're taking by having unguarded beaches this summer is tremendous.

It's unfathomable.

Lauren Cosgrove works for the National Parks Conservation Association.

She's critical of the Trump administration's budget proposal, which would cut national park spending by a billion dollars a year, and worries about the effects of the federal hiring freeze.

We don't know when this is going to stop, so that means that places like Gateway are going to remain without a permanent superintendent.

That means that they're not going to have the permanent staff that are skilled to expedite, onboard, and train the seasonal employees that we need right now in the summer busy season when so many of these communities depend on those visitors to come and spend money, and that's leaving a bare-bones federal workforce to protect America's best idea, to protect the most special places all across the country.

According to the NPSC, full-time employees at the National Park Service have been reduced by nearly a quarter, while seasonal employees are down 40 percent.

That's led to some parks reducing their hours and services, which could cut down on tourism for surrounding communities.

They're buying gas at the local gas station.

They're going to restaurants.

They're staying in hotels.

They're going to the local bait and tackle shop to get some supplies and recreate in the park in the way that they'd like to.

We asked the Department of the Interior about Pallone's letter and if they can maintain safe staffing levels after potential cuts.

Their response, in part, says lifeguard shortages is a nationwide concern, even outside of our public lands.

Many communities and cities across the country are experiencing a lifeguard shortage below ideal levels.

That's been an issue in New Jersey well before Trump returned to office, where places like Turtle Beach on the Delaware River have struggled to find recruits.

A pool might be more appealing than kind of a muddy river beach where you have a lot more people that you have to keep an eye on.

And we also have several water parks in the area where they also need lifeguards.

So I think the demand versus how many trained lifeguards are out there plays a factor.

Dani Cessna is a park spokesperson for the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which is also part of the National Park System.

She says they only got a couple of job applicants for the last few summers, so the beach there is swim at your own risk.

We've had 106 drownings here since 1971, and that's the one thing that they all had in common.

Not a single person was wearing a properly fitted and fastened life jacket.

And the thing is, the river's a lot wider than it looks.

It's really easy to underestimate, and the current is a lot stronger than it looks.

So especially during the summer, it looks low and slow and appealing, but you think you're a strong swimmer and you get halfway across, and you get tired, and you start to struggle, and you can't always make it all the way.

The Delaware Water Gap is now focused on preventative search and rescue rather than active lifeguarding, but you can still swim there.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Ted Goldberg.

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