[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2308 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2308
To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international
visitors to units of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 16, 2025
Mr. Banks (for himself and Mr. Cotton) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international
visitors to units of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting America's Treasures by
Raising Inflow from Overseas Tourists Parks Act'' or the ``PATRIOT
Parks Act''.
SEC. 2. SURCHARGE FOR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS TO UNITS OF THE NATIONAL
PARK SYSTEM.
(a) Entrance Fee Surcharge.--Section 803(e) of the Federal Lands
Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802(e)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(3) Entrance fee surcharge for international visitors.--
``(A) Definition of international visitor.--In this
paragraph, the term `international visitor' means a
nonimmigrant individual admitted into the United States
under--
``(i) section 101(a)(15)(B) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)(B)); or
``(ii) section 217 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187).
``(B) Entrance fee surcharge.--
``(i) In general.--For any unit of the
National Park System for which an entrance fee
is charged, the Secretary may, at the election
of the Secretary, or shall, on request of the
superintendent of the applicable unit of the
National Park System, authorize the
superintendent of the applicable unit of the
National Park System to establish for any
international visitors charged the entrance fee
a surcharge in an amount established by the
superintendent of the applicable unit of the
National Park System, by regulation, to be
collected by the Secretary in accordance with
this paragraph.
``(ii) Determination of surcharge amount.--
In establishing the amount of a surcharge under
clause (i), the superintendent of the
applicable unit of the National Park System
shall ensure that the amount maximizes revenue
for the applicable unit of the National Park
System while retaining international visitation
at the applicable unit of the National Park
System.
``(iii) Per-vehicle fee.--In a case in
which an entrance fee to a unit of the National
Park System subject to a surcharge under clause
(i) is a per-vehicle charge, the Secretary
shall establish, by regulation, a process for
the superintendent of the applicable unit of
the National Park System to proportionately
levy and collect the surcharge from
international visitors under that clause.
``(iv) Methods of collection.--A surcharge
established under clause (i) shall be
collected--
``(I) by the Secretary, using the
standard methods by which entrance fees
may be collected for a unit of the
National Park System under this
section; and
``(II) if the Secretary enters into
an agreement with a third-party travel
vendor to provide for the collection of
the surcharge, by the applicable third-
party travel vendor, in accordance with
the agreement.
``(v) Suspension or modification;
increase.--
``(I) Suspension or modification.--
At the election of the Secretary or on
request of the superintendent of a unit
of the National Park System at which a
surcharge is established under clause
(i), the Secretary may suspend the
collection of, or otherwise modify, the
surcharge for the applicable unit of
the National Park System, including
providing for tiered pricing of the
surcharge based on visitation levels at
the unit of the National Park System,
as determined appropriate by the
Secretary.
``(II) Increase.--The Secretary may
establish a minimum percentage increase
that shall apply to a surcharge
established by a superintendent under
clause (i) within an applicable
timeframe established by the Secretary.
``(vi) Visa fees; administration.--A
surcharge established under clause (i)--
``(I) shall be in addition to, and
separate from, any statutory immigrant
visa fee charged to an international
visitor; and
``(II) shall not be subject to
administration by the Secretary of
State or the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
``(vii) Disposition of proceeds.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all
proceeds from a surcharge on international
visitors collected under this paragraph shall
be retained by the applicable unit of the
National Park System at which the surcharge was
collected, to be distributed by the Secretary
for maintenance, visitor services, staffing,
and related needs at the unit of the National
Park System, as determined appropriate by the
Secretary.''.
(b) Recreation Passes.--Section 805(a) of the Federal Lands
Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6804(a)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(11) Surcharge for certain international visitors.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish,
by regulation, a surcharge to be collected from the
sale of any National Parks and Federal Recreational
Lands Pass to an international visitor (as defined in
section 803(e)(3)(A)), the amount of which may be
increased by the Secretary in a percentage and in a
timeframe determined to be reasonable by the Secretary.
``(B) Disposition of proceeds.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, any amounts collected as a
surcharge under subparagraph (A) shall be deposited in
the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration
Fund established by section 200402(a) of title 54,
United States Code.''.
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