To direct the Secretary of the Interior to designate an entrance-fee free date in 2026 at National Park Service sites in order to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Ms. Maloy introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a free-entry day at all federal public lands on September 17, 2026 to celebrate America's 250th anniversary (the semiquincentennial). It waives all entrance fees at National Parks and standard recreation fees at lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Forest Service.
Who Benefits and How
- The general public saves on entrance fees for one day, encouraging visits to celebrate America's anniversary
- Tourism businesses near national parks and federal lands may see increased visitor traffic and spending
- Local communities near public lands benefit from potential tourism boost
Who Bears the Burden and How
- Federal land management agencies (NPS, BLM, FWS, Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation) lose one day of fee revenue
- Federal taxpayers bear a marginal cost as agencies forgo fee collections, though total impact is limited to a single day
- The cost is symbolic rather than substantial given the one-day duration
Key Provisions
- Designates September 17, 2026 as an entrance-fee free day at all National Park Service sites
- Waives standard amenity recreation fees at BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation sites
- Waives standard amenity recreation fees at Forest Service sites
- Commemorates the 250th anniversary of the United States of America
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Waives entrance and recreation fees at all federal public lands on September 17, 2026 to celebrate the 250th anniversary (semiquincentennial) of the United States.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create a symbolic free-entry day to celebrate America's 250th anniversary and encourage visitation to public lands"
Likely Beneficiaries
- General public/visitors to federal lands
- Tourism industry
- Local businesses near federal parks
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal land management agencies (lost fee revenue for one day)
- Federal taxpayers (marginal)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior (NPS, BLM, FWS, Bureau of Reclamation)
- "secretary_agriculture"
- → Secretary of Agriculture (Forest Service)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Has the meaning given in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)
Has the meaning given in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology