Sponsors (190)
Renames the Legacy Restoration Fund, mandates GAO oversight, and imposes minimum $100 visitor-nonimmigrant fees and a $250 pass fee with revenues deposited into the renamed fund.
Official title: To modernize and maintain 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 in celebration of America's 250th anniversary.
Introduced June 10, 2026 by Bruce Westerman · Last progress June 10, 2026
The bill trades a new, dedicated revenue stream and administrative continuity for federal recreational land maintenance (paid by higher fees on many international visitors) against higher travel costs that could reduce foreign tourism, modest administrative burdens, and no immediate increase in appropriated funding absent separate congressional action.
International visitors (tourists/business travelers and Visa Waiver entrants) who pay the new charges will generate additional, dedicated revenue routed to the America’s Legacy Restoration Fund for upkeep and restoration of federal recreational lands, increasing funds available for maintenance.
Federal recreation agencies (NPS, BLM, Forest Service, FWS, Reclamation) will have a more reliable, designated funding source for maintenance projects and resource protection, improving their ability to plan and execute restoration work.
State and local governments and park agencies will retain uninterrupted access to the same Legacy Restoration Fund funding under a new name and prior references are deemed valid, avoiding legal confusion and project interruptions.
International visitors (tourists/business travelers and Visa Waiver entrants) will face substantial new per-person charges (hundreds of dollars), raising travel costs and likely reducing foreign visitation — which could significantly hurt tourism-dependent local economies (hotels, restaurants, tours).
Taxpayers, state and local governments, and park visitors may see no immediate improvement in park conditions because renaming the fund does not authorize additional appropriations or directly reduce the deferred maintenance backlog without separate funding actions.
State and local agencies will incur administrative costs to update signage, documents, and systems for the fund rename and will face added workload compiling data for GAO/annual reports, imposing short-term expenses and staff burden.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Changes the name of the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund to "America’s Legacy Restoration Fund," directs GAO studies on whether the fund reduces deferred maintenance, and imposes new fees on certain foreign visitors to federal recreation lands. The bill creates a new defined category "visitor nonimmigrant" (tourists and Visa Waiver visitors) and requires an extra charge of at least $100 per such visitor for entrance/amenity fees and makes an interagency annual pass available to them for at least $250; revenues are deposited into the renamed restoration fund.