H. R. 1957 

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and twenty 

An Act 

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

use of amounts in a National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund 

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

States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest 

Service, and the Bureau of Indian Education, and to provide permanent, dedicated 

funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, 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 ‘‘Great American Outdoors Act’’. 

SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARKS AND PUBLIC LAND LEGACY RESTORATION 

FUND. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle II of title 54, United States Code, 

is amended by inserting after chapter 2003 the following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 2004—NATIONAL PARKS AND PUBLIC LAND 

LEGACY RESTORATION FUND 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘200401. Definitions. 

‘‘200402. National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. 

‘‘§ 200401. Definitions 

‘‘In this chapter: 

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

including any physical structure or grouping of structures, landscape, trail, or other tangible property, that— 

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

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

entity by the applicable covered agency. 

‘‘(2) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘covered agency’ means— 

‘‘(A) the Service; 

‘‘(B) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

‘‘(C) the Forest Service; 

‘‘(D) the Bureau of Land Management; and 

‘‘(E) the Bureau of Indian Education. 

‘‘(3) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the National Parks 

and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund established by section 200402(a). 

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

reduce or eliminate deferred maintenance of an asset, which 
H. R. 1957—2 

may include resolving directly related infrastructure deficiencies of the asset that would not by itself be classified 

as deferred maintenance. 

‘‘§ 200402. National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund 

‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Treasury of 

the United States a fund to be known as the ‘National Parks 

and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund’. 

‘‘(b) DEPOSITS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), 

for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, there shall be 

deposited in the Fund an amount equal to 50 percent of all 

energy development revenues due and payable to the United 

States from oil, gas, coal, or alternative or renewable energy 

development on Federal land and water credited, covered, or 

deposited as miscellaneous receipts under Federal law in the 

preceding fiscal year. 

‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount deposited in the Fund 

under paragraph (1) shall not exceed $1,900,000,000 for any 

fiscal year. 

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

affects the disposition of revenues that— 

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

funds, or States from mineral and energy development 

on Federal land and water; or 

‘‘(B) have been otherwise appropriated— 

‘‘(i) under Federal law, including— 

‘‘(I) the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act 

of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109– 

432); and 

‘‘(II) the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 

et seq.); or 

‘‘(ii) from— 

‘‘(I) the Land and Water Conservation Fund 

established under chapter 2003; or 

‘‘(II) the Historic Preservation Fund established under chapter 3031. 

‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited in the Fund 

shall be available to the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture, 

as provided in subsection (e), without further appropriation or fiscal 

year limitation. 

‘‘(d) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

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

of the Treasury to invest any portion of the Fund that is 

not, as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

Secretary of Agriculture, required to meet the current needs 

of the Fund. 

‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—An investment requested under paragraph (1) shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury 

in a public debt security— 

‘‘(A) with a maturity suitable to the needs of the Fund, 

as determined by the Secretary; and 

‘‘(B) bearing interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration current 

market yields on outstanding marketable obligations of 

the United States of comparable maturity. 
H. R. 1957—3 

‘‘(3) CREDITS TO FUND.—The income on investments of the 

Fund under this subsection shall be credited to, and form 

a part of, the Fund. 

‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts deposited in the Fund for each 

fiscal year shall be used for priority deferred maintenance 

projects in the System, in the National Wildlife Refuge System, 

on public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management, for the Bureau of Indian Education schools, and in the 

National Forest System, as follows: 

‘‘(A) 70 percent of the amounts deposited in the Fund 

for each fiscal year shall be allocated to the Service. 

‘‘(B) 15 percent of the amounts deposited in the Fund 

for each fiscal year shall be allocated to the Forest Service. 

‘‘(C) 5 percent of the amounts deposited in the Fund 

for each fiscal year shall be allocated to the United States 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

‘‘(D) 5 percent of the amounts deposited in the Fund 

for each fiscal year shall be allocated to the Bureau of 

Land Management. 

‘‘(E) 5 percent of the amounts deposited in the Fund 

for each fiscal year shall be allocated to the Bureau of 

Indian Education. 

‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

‘‘(A) NON-TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.—Over the term 

of the Fund, within each covered agency, not less than 

65 percent of amounts from the Fund shall be allocated 

for non-transportation projects. 

‘‘(B) TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.—The amounts 

remaining in the Fund after the allocations required under 

subparagraph (A) may be allocated for transportation 

projects of the covered agencies, including paved and 

unpaved roads, bridges, tunnels, and paved parking areas. 

‘‘(C) PLAN.—Any priority deferred maintenance project 

funded under this section shall be consistent with an 

applicable transportation, deferred maintenance, or capital 

improvement plan developed by the applicable covered 

agency. 

‘‘(f) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—No amounts in the Fund 

shall be used— 

‘‘(1) for land acquisition; 

‘‘(2) to supplant discretionary funding made available for 

annually recurring facility operations, maintenance, and 

construction needs; or 

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

that are carrying out this section. 

‘‘(g) SUBMISSION OF PRIORITY LIST OF PROJECTS TO CONGRESS.— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, 

the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to 

the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and Appropriations of the Senate and the Committees on Natural Resources 

and Appropriations of the House of Representatives a list of projects 

to be funded for fiscal year 2021 that— 

‘‘(1) are identified by the Secretary and the Secretary of 

Agriculture as priority deferred maintenance projects; and 

‘‘(2) as of the date of the submission of the list, are ready 

to be implemented. 
H. R. 1957—4 

‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF ANNUAL LIST OF PROJECTS TO CONGRESS.— 

Until the date on which all of the amounts in the Fund are 

expended, the President shall annually submit to Congress, together 

with the annual budget of the United States, a list of projects 

to be funded from the Fund that includes a detailed description 

of each project, including the estimated expenditures from the Fund 

for the project for the applicable fiscal year. 

‘‘(i) ALTERNATE ALLOCATION.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Appropriations Acts may provide for 

alternate allocation of amounts made available under this section, consistent with the allocations to covered agencies under 

subsection (e)(1). 

‘‘(2) ALLOCATION BY PRESIDENT.— 

‘‘(A) NO ALTERNATE ALLOCATIONS.—If Congress has not 

enacted legislation establishing alternate allocations by the 

date on which the Act making full-year appropriations 

for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and 

Related Agencies for the applicable fiscal year is enacted 

into law, amounts made available under subsection (c) 

shall be allocated by the President. 

‘‘(B) INSUFFICIENT ALTERNATE ALLOCATION.—If Congress enacts legislation establishing alternate allocations 

for amounts made available under subsection (c) that are 

less than the full amount appropriated under that subsection, the difference between the amount appropriated 

and the alternate allocation shall be allocated by the President. 

‘‘(j) PUBLIC DONATIONS.— 

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

advance efforts— 

‘‘(A) to reduce the deferred maintenance backlog; and 

‘‘(B) to encourage relevant public-private partnerships. 

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

paragraph (1) shall be— 

‘‘(A) credited to, and form a part of, the Fund; and 

‘‘(B) allocated to the covered agency for which the 

donation was made. 

‘‘(3) OTHER ALLOCATIONS.—Any donations allocated to a 

covered agency under paragraph (2)(B) shall be allocated to 

the applicable covered agency independently of the allocations 

under subsection (e)(1). 

‘‘(k) REQUIRED CONSIDERATION FOR ACCESSIBILITY.—In 

expending amounts from the Fund, the Secretary and the Secretary 

of Agriculture shall incorporate measures to improve the accessibility of assets and accommodate visitors and employees with 

disabilities in accordance with applicable law.’’. 

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters for subtitle 

II of title 54, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

the item relating to chapter 2003 the following: 

‘‘2004. National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund .................200401’’. 

(c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 5 years after the date of 

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

shall— 

(1) conduct a study on the implementation of this section 

and the amendments made by this section, including whether 
H. R. 1957—5 

this section and the amendments made by this section have 

effectively reduced the priority deferred maintenance backlog 

of the covered agencies (as that term is defined in section 

200401 of title 54, United States Code); and 

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

of the study under paragraph (1). 

SEC. 3. PERMANENT FULL FUNDING OF THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 200303 of title 54, United States 

Code, is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘§ 200303. Availability of funds 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts deposited in the Fund under 

section 200302 for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter 

shall be made available for expenditure for fiscal year 2021 and 

each fiscal year thereafter, without further appropriation or fiscal 

year limitation, to carry out the purposes of the Fund (including 

accounts and programs made available from the Fund pursuant 

to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 

116–94; 133 Stat. 2534)). 

‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—Amounts made available under 

subsection (a) shall be in addition to amounts made available to 

the Fund under section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security 

Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432) or otherwise 

appropriated from the Fund. 

‘‘(c) ALLOCATION AUTHORITY.— 

‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF COST ESTIMATES.—The President shall 

submit to Congress detailed account, program, and project 

allocations of the full amount made available under subsection 

(a)— 

‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2021, not later than 90 days after 

the date of enactment of the Great American Outdoors 

Act; and 

‘‘(B) for each fiscal year thereafter, as part of the 

annual budget submission of the President. 

‘‘(2) ALTERNATE ALLOCATION.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Appropriations Acts may provide 

for alternate allocation of amounts made available under 

subsection (a), including allocations by account, program, 

and project. 

‘‘(B) ALLOCATION BY PRESIDENT.— 

‘‘(i) NO ALTERNATE ALLOCATIONS.—If Congress has 

not enacted legislation establishing alternate allocations by the date on which the Act making full-year 

appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 

Environment, and Related Agencies for the applicable 

fiscal year is enacted into law, amounts made available 

under subsection (a) shall be allocated by the President. 

‘‘(ii) INSUFFICIENT ALTERNATE ALLOCATION.—If 

Congress enacts legislation establishing alternate 

allocations for amounts made available under subsection (a) that are less than the full amount appropriated under that subsection, the difference between 

the amount appropriated and the alternate allocation 

shall be allocated by the President. 
H. R. 1957—6 

‘‘(3) RECREATIONAL PUBLIC ACCESS.—Amounts expended 

from the Fund under this section shall be consistent with 

the requirements for recreational public access for hunting, 

fishing, recreational shooting, or other outdoor recreational purposes under section 200306(c). 

‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORT.—The President shall submit to Congress an annual report that describes the final allocation by 

account, program, and project of amounts made available under 

subsection (a), including a description of the status of obligations and expenditures.’’. 

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

(1) Section 200302(c) of title 54, United States Code, is 

amended by striking paragraph (3). 

(2) Section 200306(a)(2)(B) of title 54, United States Code, 

is amended by striking clause (iii). 

(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for chapter 

2003 of title 54, United States Code, is amended by striking the 

item relating to section 200303 and inserting the following: 

‘‘200303. Availability of funds.’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.