Sponsors (2)
The bill trades federal protection and support for the César E. Chávez National Monument and related preservation responsibilities for redirected funding to reduce DNA forensic backlogs, prioritizing criminal-justice capacity over maintaining a federally protected historic site.
Taxpayers, crime victims, and law enforcement: Unobligated funds from the abolished César E. Chávez National Monument are redirected to the Department of Justice to reduce DNA/forensic backlogs, increasing federal resources for case processing and potentially speeding investigations and prosecutions.
Local communities, visitors, and tribal residents: The bill abolishes the César E. Chávez National Monument, removing federal protection, on-site programming, and guaranteed public access to the site.
Taxpayers and local governments: Federal funding and support for historic preservation at the site are reduced, likely shifting preservation, maintenance, or programming costs onto local governments, nonprofits, or private entities.
Interior Department staff and federal employees: The Department of the Interior loses authority to use prior appropriations for operation and maintenance of the abolished monument, which could lead to staffing reductions or the end of site services.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Terminates a national monument and transfers its unobligated federal funds to DNA backlog reduction programs.
Official title: Abolish and defund the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in the State of California, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 25, 2026 by John Cornyn · Last progress March 25, 2026
Abolishes a specific national monument and stops use of any remaining appropriated funds to operate or maintain it except to carry out the abolition. Any unobligated amounts that had been available for the monument are transferred to support DNA backlog reduction efforts under federal law. The bill is short and narrowly targeted: it ends federal designation and operations for the monument and redirects leftover federal funds to a Department of Justice program that helps eliminate DNA analysis backlogs.