IIB
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2976
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 14, 2001
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources
AN ACT
To provide for the issuance of a special entrance pass for
free admission to any federally owned area which is
operated and maintained by a Federal agency and used
for outdoor recreation purposes to the survivors, victims’
immediate families, and police, fire, rescue, recovery, and
medical personnel directly affected by the September 11,
2001, terrorist hijackings and the attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon, and for other purposes.
HR 2976 RFS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healing Opportunities
in Parks and the Environment Pass Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) The trauma associated with the terrorist hi-
jackings and attacks of September 11, 2001, has
been significant for the survivors, victims’ immediate
families, and police, fire, rescue, recovery, and med-
ical personnel directly involved in this national trag-
edy.
(2) America’s system of national parks, forests,
and public lands provides significant opportunities to
renew, refresh, and strengthen the physical, mental,
and spiritual well-being of those who use them.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to help
those directly impacted by the tragic events of September
11, 2001, by enhancing opportunities for the use of Amer-
ica’s national parks, forests, and public lands as a means
of aiding in their recovery from the trauma associated with
these tragic events.
HR 2976 RFS
SEC. 3. HOPE PASS.
(a) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary of the Interior shall
make available at no cost to qualified individuals a special
entrance pass which shall be known as the ‘‘Hope Pass’’
and shall provide for free admission into any federally
owned area which is operated and maintained by a Federal
agency and used for outdoor recreation purposes.
(b) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.—A qualified individual
shall be—
(1) an individual who was present at the World
Trade Center, the Pentagon, or the site of the air-
craft crash at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at the time,
or in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist-re-
lated aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001;
(2) an individual who had an immediate family
member killed as a direct result of the terrorist-re-
lated aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001; or
(3) any police, fire, rescue, recovery, or medical
personnel who directly responded to the terrorist-re-
lated aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001.
(c) CONDITIONS.—Each Hope Pass shall—
(1) be issued upon acceptance by the Secretary
of the Interior of an application from a qualified ap-
plicant which shall include a signed statement attest-
ing to the applicant’s eligibility for the pass;
HR 2976 RFS
(2) be valid for the life of the qualified pass
holder; and
(3) provide free admission to qualified pass
holders and their immediate family when accom-
panied by the qualified pass holder.
(d) NONELIGIBILITY.—No individual identified by
the Attorney General of the United States to have been
a participant or conspirator in the terrorist-related air-
craft crashes of September 11, 2001, or their family shall
be eligible to receive a Hope Pass.
Passed the House of Representatives November 13,
2001.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.