Sponsors
The bill redirects federal property and any unobligated funds from the César E. Chávez National Monument to support DNA backlog reduction and eliminate future federal spending on the site, trading public access, federal stewardship, preservation protections, and potential educational uses for near-term fiscal savings and criminal-justice funding.
Taxpayers and the criminal-justice system: any unobligated funds and sale proceeds from the César E. Chávez National Monument are transferred to support DNA backlog reduction under the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act, providing new funding to clear forensic backlogs.
Taxpayers: the bill prohibits future federal appropriations for Monument operations, eliminating ongoing federal spending obligations related to the site and potentially lowering federal outlays.
Residents and visitors: the Monument and related memorial sites lose public access immediately on enactment, ending public use and visitation.
Local governments, preservation groups, and the public: federal divestiture ends National Park Service stewardship and could transfer historic property to private owners, reducing federal historic-preservation protections and oversight.
Taxpayers and local governments: requiring the site to be sold within 90 days risks a rushed sale that could fetch below-market value or limit public bidding, potentially losing public benefit and revenue.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Closes and requires sale of the César E. Chávez National Monument federal property within 90 days, voids its founding proclamation, and directs proceeds to DNA backlog elimination funds.
Introduced April 14, 2026 by John Cornyn · Last progress April 14, 2026
Requires the Secretary of the Interior (through the National Park Service) to close the federally owned César E. Chávez National Monument, void the presidential proclamation that created it, and sell the federal land and federal-owned contents at fair market value within 90 days of enactment. It prohibits any further federal appropriations for the Monument and directs unobligated funds and sale proceeds to be used for DNA backlog elimination under existing federal law.