Explore America Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.186 | Sponsor: Rep. Young, Don (R-AK)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Explore America Act of 2021
The Department of the Interior shall offer to enter into partnerships with gateway communities, including Native American communities and National Heritage Areas, to leverage heritage tourism assets in order to strengthen the local economies and create jobs in those communities.

To amend title 54, United States Code, to authorize the provision of 
 technical assistance under the Preserve America Program and to direct 
     the Secretary of the Interior to enter into partnerships with 
 communities adjacent to units of the National Park System to leverage 
                local cultural heritage tourism assets.

    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 ``Explore America Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to strengthen economic development across the United 
        States by supporting cultural heritage tourism and historic 
        preservation activities through the Preserve America Program; 
        and
            (2) to encourage the Director of the National Park Service 
        to partner with gateway communities (including Native American 
        communities and National Heritage Areas) to leverage local 
        cultural and historic heritage tourism assets.

SEC. 3. PRESERVE AMERICA GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 311102 of title 54, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and the 
                Secretary of Commerce'' after ``Council''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Advisory role of secretary of commerce.--The 
        Secretary of Commerce shall advise the program with respect to 
        job creation, economic growth, and tourism policy and 
        promotion.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Technical Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--For any fiscal year for which funds are 
        not made available to provide grants under this section, to the 
        extent practicable, the program shall, in lieu of the grants, 
        provide technical assistance to the eligible entities described 
        in subsection (a) for projects that meet the eligibility 
        requirements described in subsection (b), as identified on the 
        list of projects prepared by the Secretary in accordance with 
        subsection (d).
            ``(2) Limitation.--The Secretary may take into account the 
        availability of staff resources at the Department of the 
        Interior, the Council, and the Department of Commerce for 
        purposes of determining the number of projects that are 
        provided technical assistance under this subsection.
            ``(3) Form.--The form of technical assistance under 
        paragraph (1) may include technical assistance provided by--
                    ``(A) the Director, with respect to--
                            ``(i) best practices in visitor services;
                            ``(ii) the conduct of research, 
                        inventories, and surveys;
                            ``(iii) the documentation of historic 
                        resources; and
                            ``(iv) the interpretation and promotion of 
                        cultural and heritage assets;
                    ``(B) the Council, with respect to historic 
                preservation initiatives and best practices in 
                stewardship; and
                    ``(C) the Secretary of Commerce, with respect to 
                economic development and job creation resources.''.
    (b) Program Metrics.--Chapter 3111 of title 54, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 311105 as section 311106; and
            (2) by inserting after section 311104 the following:
``Sec. 311105. Reports
    ``(a) Metrics.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of the Explore America Act of 2021, the Secretary, in consultation with 
the Council and the Secretary of Commerce, shall develop specific 
metrics to measure the effectiveness of the program, including--
            ``(1) the economic impact of the program on local 
        communities (including Native American communities and National 
        Heritage Areas); and
            ``(2) the effect of the program on efforts to preserve 
        heritage resources.
    ``(b) Grantee Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on 
which a grantee receives a grant or technical assistance under this 
chapter, the grantee shall submit to the Secretary a report that--
            ``(1) describes the outcome of the project that was 
        provided a grant or technical assistance under this chapter; 
        and
            ``(2) based on the metrics developed under subsection (a), 
        assesses--
                    ``(A) the accomplishments of the project; and
                    ``(B) the impact of the project on the community in 
                which the project was carried out.
    ``(c) Annual Reports.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report 
to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes data provided 
by grantees to demonstrate the economic impact of the program.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 3111 
of title 54, United States Code, is amended by striking the item 
relating to section 311105 and inserting the following:

``311105. Reports.
``311106. Authorization of appropriations.''.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PARTNERSHIPS WITH GATEWAY COMMUNITIES.

    (a) In General.--Subdivision 1 of division B of subtitle III of 
title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

         ``CHAPTER 3092--PARTNERSHIPS WITH GATEWAY COMMUNITIES

``Sec.
``309201. Definitions.
``309202. Partnerships with gateway communities.
``309203. Report.
``309204. Authorization of appropriations.
``Sec. 309201. Definitions
    ``In this chapter:
            ``(1) Appropriate congressional committee.--The term 
        `appropriate congressional committee' means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate;
                    ``(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                of the Senate;
                    ``(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                Senate;
                    ``(D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    ``(E) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                    ``(F) the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
                of Representatives.
            ``(2) Gateway community.--The term `gateway community' 
        means a community adjacent to a unit of the System, including a 
        Native American community or a National Heritage Area.
            ``(3) Heritage tourism.--The term `heritage tourism' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 311101.
``Sec. 309202. Partnerships with gateway communities
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, 
offer to enter into partnerships with gateway communities to leverage 
heritage tourism assets to strengthen local economies and create jobs 
in the gateway communities with the goal of establishing a standardized 
framework for partnerships throughout the System, including through--
            ``(1) providing financial assistance to gateway communities 
        to support outreach and promotional efforts;
            ``(2) providing technical assistance to gateway communities 
        based on Service best practices in tourism development and 
        visitor management, such as--
                    ``(A) inventorying tourism resources in the gateway 
                community;
                    ``(B) identifying historic heritage and cultural 
                resources;
                    ``(C) engaging collaborative partners and 
                stakeholders;
                    ``(D) designing community outreach and 
                participation strategies;
                    ``(E) developing concept plans for trails, parks, 
                historic resources, and natural areas;
                    ``(F) developing sustainable tourism development 
                frameworks for community planning; and
                    ``(G) encouraging regional strategies for tourism 
                development and promotion; and
            ``(3) assisting gateway communities in accessing additional 
        Federal resources available to strengthen tourism assets and 
        support economic development.
    ``(b) Obtaining Financial and Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, 
in consultation with stakeholders of System units, shall establish a 
process through which States, units of local government, and Tribal 
governments may apply for designation as a gateway community to become 
eligible for financial and technical assistance made available under 
this section.
    ``(c) Metrics.--The Secretary, in consultation with gateway 
communities, shall develop metrics to measure the impact of the 
financial and technical assistance provided to gateway communities 
under this section.
``Sec. 309203. Report
    ``Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report that--
            ``(1) describes the efforts of the Secretary to partner 
        with gateway communities under this chapter;
            ``(2) analyzes the results of the financial and technical 
        assistance using the metrics developed under section 309202(c); 
        and
            ``(3) identifies--
                    ``(A) the next steps that should be taken to 
                improve partnerships with gateway communities; and
                    ``(B) any actions that the Secretary will take to 
                improve the partnerships.
``Sec. 309204. Authorization of appropriations
    ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this chapter.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for title 54, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
chapter 3091 the following:

        ``3902. Partnerships with gateway communities......    30921''.
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