II 

Calendar No. 428 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 500 

To amend title 54, United States Code, to establish, fund, and provide 

for the use of amounts in a National Park Service Legacy Restoration 

Fund to address the maintenance backlog of the National Park Service, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. KING, Mr. 

TILLIS, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. GARDNER, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BLUNT, Ms. 

BALDWIN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. 

HEINRICH, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. DAINES, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

WYDEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. KAINE, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mr. COONS, Ms. SMITH, Ms. HASSAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. 

MURRAY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. GRAHAM, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. 

YOUNG, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. MCSALLY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. COTTON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

FEBRUARY 25, 2020 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend title 54, United States Code, to establish, fund, 

and provide for the use of amounts in a National Park 

Service Legacy Restoration Fund to address the mainteVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S500.RS S500

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nance backlog of the National Park Service, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore Our Parks 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LEGACY RESTORATION 

7 FUND. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1049 of title 54, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘§ 104908. National Park Service Legacy Restoration 

12 Fund 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Na15 tional Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund estab16 lished by subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(2) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means the 

18 overall plan of remediation of deferred maintenance 

19 for an asset, which may include resolving directly re20 lated infrastructure deficiencies of the asset. 

21 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

22 Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the 

23 ‘National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund’. 

24 ‘‘(c) DEPOSITS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

3 2023, there shall be deposited in the Fund an 

4 amount equal to 50 percent of all energy develop5 ment revenues due and payable to the United States 

6 from oil, gas, coal, or alternative or renewable en7 ergy development on Federal land and water that 

8 would otherwise be credited, covered, or deposited as 

9 miscellaneous receipts under Federal law. 

10 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount depos11 ited in the Fund under paragraph (1) shall not ex12 ceed $1,300,000,000 for any fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(3) EFFECT ON OTHER REVENUES.—Nothing 

14 in this section affects the disposition of revenues 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) are due to the United States, special 

17 funds, trust funds, or States from mineral and 

18 energy development on Federal land and water; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(B) have been otherwise appropriated 

21 under Federal law, including the Gulf of Mexico 

22 Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 

23 note; Public Law 109–432), the Mineral Leas24 ing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and chapter 

25 2003. 


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1 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited 

2 in the Fund shall be available to the Secretary without 

3 further appropriation or fiscal year limitation. 

4 ‘‘(e) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may request 

6 the Secretary of the Treasury to invest any portion 

7 of the Fund that is not, as determined by the Sec8 retary, required to meet the current needs of the 

9 Fund. 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—An investment requested 

11 under paragraph (1) shall be made by the Secretary 

12 of the Treasury in a public debt security— 

13 ‘‘(A) with a maturity suitable to the needs 

14 of the Fund, as determined by the Secretary; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) bearing interest at a rate determined 

17 by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into 

18 consideration current market yields on out19 standing marketable obligations of the United 

20 States of comparable maturity. 

21 ‘‘(3) CREDITS TO FUND.—The income on in22 vestments of the Fund under this subsection shall be 

23 credited to, and form a part of, the Fund. 

24 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund shall be 

25 used for the priority deferred maintenance needs of the 


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1 Service, as determined by the Secretary, to carry out re2 pair, restoration, or rehabilitation projects as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) Not less than 65 percent of amounts in 

4 the Fund shall be allocated for non-transportation 

5 projects, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) historic structures, facilities, and 

7 other historic assets; 

8 ‘‘(B) structures, facilities, and other non9 historic assets that relate directly to the visitor 

10 experience, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) access, including making facilities 

12 accessible to visitors with disabilities; 

13 ‘‘(ii) health and safety; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) recreation; and 

15 ‘‘(C) administrative facilities, water and 

16 utility systems, and employee housing. 

17 ‘‘(2) The remaining amounts in the Fund may 

18 be allocated to road, bridge, tunnel, or other trans19 portation-related projects that may be eligible for 

20 funding made available to the Service through— 

21 ‘‘(A) the transportation program under 

22 section 203 of title 23; or 

23 ‘‘(B) any similar Federal land highway 

24 program administered by the Secretary of 

25 Transportation. 


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1 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—No amounts in 

2 the Fund shall be used— 

3 ‘‘(1) for land acquisition; 

4 ‘‘(2) to supplant discretionary funding made 

5 available for the annually recurring facility oper6 ations, maintenance, and construction needs of the 

7 Service; or 

8 ‘‘(3) for bonuses for employees of the Federal 

9 Government that are carrying out this section. 

10 ‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF LIST OF PROJECTS TO CON11 GRESS.—As soon as practicable after the date of enact12 ment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the ap13 propriate committees of Congress— 

14 ‘‘(1) a list of each project that— 

15 ‘‘(A) as of the date of enactment of this 

16 section, is identified by the Secretary as a high17 est-priority deferred maintenance project of the 

18 Service; and 

19 ‘‘(B) as of the date of the report, is ready 

20 to be commenced immediately; and 

21 ‘‘(2) for any project identified under paragraph 

22 (1)(A) that is not ready to be commenced imme23 diately, a schedule for the completion of all reviews 

24 with respect to the project (including the prepara25 tion of any environmental documents and historic 


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1 preservation analyses) that are necessary to com2 mence the project immediately. 

3 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

4 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re5 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re6 sources of the House of Representatives, as part of the 

7 annual budget submission of the President— 

8 ‘‘(1) a report that describes, and provides an 

9 explanation for, any cost overruns or delays relating 

10 to deferred maintenance projects carried out using 

11 amounts from the Fund for the previous fiscal year; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) a list of projects for which the amounts in 

14 the Fund are allocated under this section, including 

15 a description and cost-benefit analysis of each 

16 project, after considering the list and schedules sub17 mitted under subsection (h). 

18 ‘‘(j) PUBLIC DONATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Di20 rector may accept public cash or in-kind donations 

21 that advance efforts— 

22 ‘‘(A) to reduce the deferred maintenance 

23 backlog of the Service; and 

24 ‘‘(B) to encourage relevant public-private 

25 partnerships. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CREDITS TO FUND.—Any cash donations 

2 accepted under paragraph (1) shall be credited to, 

3 and form a part of, the Fund. 

4 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Each donation received 

5 under paragraph (1) that is used for, or directly re6 lated to, the reduction of the deferred maintenance 

7 backlog of the Service shall be included with the an8 nual budget submission of the President to Con9 gress. 

10 ‘‘(k) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date on which the first distributions are made from 

12 the Fund and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall sub13 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

14 that describes, with respect to each project provided 

15 amounts from the Fund during the period covered by the 

16 report— 

17 ‘‘(1) any progress with respect to the project, 

18 including a comparison of the progress with respect 

19 to other highest-priority deferred maintenance 

20 projects of the Service; 

21 ‘‘(2) the expenditure of amounts from the Fund 

22 with respect to the project; and 

23 ‘‘(3) the projected cyclic maintenance needs of 

24 the project on completion of the project.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for chapter 1049 of title 54, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘104908. National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

5 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

7 shall— 

8 (1) conduct a study with respect to the imple9 mentation of the National Park Service Legacy Res10 toration Fund under section 104908 of title 54, 

11 United States Code (as added by section 2(a)) (re12 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’), including 

13 whether the Director of the National Park Service 

14 is, with respect to projects carried out using 

15 amounts from the Fund— 

16 (A) properly estimating the cost for those 

17 projects; 

18 (B) adhering to time schedules and cost 

19 projections for those projects; 

20 (C) properly prioritizing deferred mainte21 nance projects; and 

22 (D) properly moving completed projects off 

23 of the high-priority deferred maintenance list of 

24 the National Park Service in a timely manner; 

25 and 


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1 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

2 the results of the study under paragraph (1). 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restore Our Parks Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LEGACY RESTORATION 

6 FUND. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1049 of title 54, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 104910. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LEGACY RESTORA10 TION FUND. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) ASSET.—The term ‘asset’ means any real 

13 property, including any physical structure or group14 ing of structures, landscape, trail, or other tangible 

15 property that— 

16 ‘‘(A) has a specific service or function; and 

17 ‘‘(B) is tracked and managed as a distinct, 

18 identifiable entity by the Service. 

19 ‘‘(2) DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘de20 ferred maintenance’ means, with respect to an asset, 

21 any maintenance or repair— 

22 ‘‘(A) that was not performed at the time the 

23 maintenance or repair should have been per24 formed; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) that was scheduled to be performed, 

2 but was postponed or delayed for a future period. 

3 ‘‘(3) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Na4 tional Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund estab5 lished by subsection (b). 

6 ‘‘(4) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means any 

7 activity to reduce or eliminate deferred maintenance 

8 of an asset, which may include resolving directly re9 lated infrastructure deficiencies of the asset that 

10 would not by itself be classified as deferred mainte11 nance. 

12 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

13 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 

14 ‘National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund’. 

15 ‘‘(c) DEPOSITS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, 

18 there shall be deposited in the Fund an amount equal 

19 to 50 percent of all energy development revenues due 

20 and payable to the United States from oil, gas, coal, 

21 or alternative or renewable energy development on 

22 Federal land and water that would otherwise be cred23 ited, covered, or deposited as miscellaneous receipts 

24 under Federal law. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount deposited 

2 in the Fund under paragraph (1) shall not exceed 

3 $1,300,000,000 for any fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(3) EFFECT ON OTHER REVENUES.—Nothing in 

5 this section affects the disposition of revenues that— 

6 ‘‘(A) are due to the United States, special 

7 funds, trust funds, or States from mineral and 

8 energy development on Federal land and water; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(B) have been otherwise appropriated— 

11 ‘‘(i) under Federal law, including— 

12 ‘‘(I) the Gulf of Mexico Energy 

13 Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 

14 note; Public Law 109–432); and 

15 ‘‘(II) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

16 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) from— 

18 ‘‘(I) the Land and Water Con19 servation Fund established under chap20 ter 2003; or 

21 ‘‘(II) the Historic Preservation 

22 Fund established under chapter 3031. 

23 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited in 

24 the Fund shall be available to the Secretary without further 

25 appropriation or fiscal year limitation. 


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1 ‘‘(e) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may request 

3 the Secretary of the Treasury to invest any portion 

4 of the Fund that is not, as determined by the Sec5 retary, required to meet the current needs of the 

6 Fund. 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—An investment requested 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be made by the Secretary 

9 of the Treasury in a public debt security— 

10 ‘‘(A) with a maturity suitable to the needs 

11 of the Fund, as determined by the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(B) bearing interest at a rate determined 

13 by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into 

14 consideration current market yields on out15 standing marketable obligations of the United 

16 States of comparable maturity. 

17 ‘‘(3) CREDITS TO FUND.—The income on invest18 ments of the Fund under this subsection shall be cred19 ited to, and form a part of, the Fund. 

20 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited in the Fund 

21 shall be used for priority deferred maintenance projects of 

22 the Service, as determined by the Secretary, as follows: 

23 ‘‘(1) Over the term of the Fund, not less than 65 

24 percent of amounts in the Fund shall be allocated for 

25 non-transportation projects. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The remaining amounts in the Fund may 

2 be allocated for Service transportation projects, in3 cluding paved and unpaved roads, bridges, tunnels, 

4 and paved parking areas. 

5 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—No amounts in the 

6 Fund shall be used— 

7 ‘‘(1) for land acquisition; 

8 ‘‘(2) to supplant discretionary funding made 

9 available for the annually recurring facility oper10 ations, maintenance, and construction needs of the 

11 Service; or 

12 ‘‘(3) for bonuses for employees of the Federal 

13 Government that are carrying out this section. 

14 ‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF PRIORITY LIST OF PROJECTS TO

15 CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of en16 actment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 

17 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

18 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

19 Representatives a list of projects that— 

20 ‘‘(1) as of the date of enactment of this section, 

21 are identified by the Secretary as priority deferred 

22 maintenance projects of the Service; and 

23 ‘‘(2) as of the date of the submission of the list, 

24 are ready to be implemented. 


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1 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION OF ANNUAL LIST OF PROJECTS TO

2 CONGRESS.—The President shall submit to Congress, to3 gether with the annual budget of the United States, a list 

4 of projects to be funded from the Fund that includes a de5 tailed description of each project, including the estimated 

6 expenditures from the Fund for the project for the applica7 ble fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(j) PUBLIC DONATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Direc10 tor may accept public cash or in-kind donations that 

11 advance efforts— 

12 ‘‘(A) to reduce the deferred maintenance 

13 backlog of the Service; and 

14 ‘‘(B) to encourage relevant public-private 

15 partnerships. 

16 ‘‘(2) CREDITS TO FUND.—Any cash donations 

17 accepted under paragraph (1) shall be credited to, 

18 and form a part of, the Fund. 

19 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Each donation received under 

20 paragraph (1) that is used for, or directly related to, 

21 the reduction of the deferred maintenance backlog of 

22 the Service shall be included with the annual budget 

23 submission of the President to Congress. 

24 ‘‘(k) REQUIRED CONSIDERATION FOR ACCESSI25 BILITY.—In expending amounts from the Fund, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:37 Feb 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S500.RS S500

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1 retary shall incorporate measures to improve the accessi2 bility of assets and accommodate visitors and employees 

3 with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for 

5 chapter 1049 of title 54, United States Code, is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘104910. National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

8 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

10 shall— 

11 (1) conduct a study on the implementation of 

12 this Act and the amendments made by this Act, in13 cluding whether this Act and the amendments made 

14 by this Act have effectively reduced the priority de15 ferred maintenance backlog of the National Park 

16 Service; and 

17 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes the 

18 results of the study under paragraph (1). 


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Calendar No. 428 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 500 

A BILL 

To amend title 54, United States Code, to estabNational Park Service, and for other purposes. Fund to address the maintenance backlog of the a National Park Service Legacy Restoration lish, fund, and provide for the use of amounts in 

FEBRUARY 25, 2020 

Reported with an amendment 


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