America the Beautiful Act

Bill: 118-s-5402
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT]
Introduced: 2024-11-21
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5402 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 21, 2024 Mr. Daines (for himself, Mr. King , Mr. Cramer , and Mr. Warner ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend title 54, United States Code, to reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the America the Beautiful Act . 2. Reuauthorization of the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (a) Deposits Section 200402(b) of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking 2025 and inserting 2033 ; and (2) in paragraph (2), by striking $1,900,000,000 and inserting $2,000,000,000 . (b) Use of funds Section 200402(e) of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking in the National Wildlife Refuge System and inserting on land administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (3) Project prioritization The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall prioritize the use of amounts allocated from the Fund for projects that receive donations under subsection (j) of not less than 15 percent of the total costs of the applicable project. . (c) Submission of annual list of projects to Congress Section 200402(h) of title 54, United States Code, is amended by inserting and the subsequent fiscal year before the period at the end. (d) Alternate allocation Section 200402(i) of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting for the applicable fiscal year and subsequent fiscal year after under this section ; and (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following: (C) No full-year appropriations enacted If Congress has not enacted full-year appropriations for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies for the applicable fiscal year by the end of the previous fiscal year, amounts made available under subsection (c) shall be allocated by the President, if that allocation had previously been approved under paragraph (1) as an allocation for the subsequent fiscal year. . (e) Public donations Section 200402(j) of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the subsection heading, by striking Public ; (2) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking public ; (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: (2) Solicitation of Donations The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide to the public information on the ability of the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to accept donations under paragraph (1), including through— (A) public awareness campaigns; (B) physical or digital donation locations at project sites; and (C) during the checkout process for the purchase of a physical or digital pass to access a Federal recreational site or an interagency pass, such as the America the Beautiful—the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. ; (5) by striking paragraph (3) (as so redesignated) and inserting the following: (3) Credits to fund Any cash donations accepted under paragraph (1)— (A) shall be— (i) credited to, and form a part of, the Fund; and (ii) allocated to the covered agency for which the donation was made; and (B) may be allocated to specific projects included on a list submitted under subsection (h). ; and (6) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), by striking paragraph (2)(B) and inserting paragraph (3)(A)(ii) . (f) Disposal of assets; report to congress Section 200402 of title 54, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (l) Disposal of assets The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide for the disposal of constructed assets included on a deferred maintenance list submitted under subsection (h) that no longer serve the public interest or advance the mission of the applicable unit to which the asset belongs. (m) Report to Congress Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that— (1) describes actions taken by the covered agencies without using amounts from the Fund to reduce deferred maintenance in the System, on land administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, on public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management, for the Bureau of Indian Education schools, and in the National Forest System; and (2) includes a plan from the covered agencies to increase preventative annual and cyclic maintenance activities by covered agencies to a level that properly maintains the assets of the covered agencies and prevents the addition of assets to a deferred maintenance list under subsection (h). .