119-s2308

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2308 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2308

To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the 
 Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international 
 visitors to units of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 16, 2025

 Mr. Banks (for himself and Mr. Cotton) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
 Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the 
 Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international 
 visitors to units of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

 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 ``Protecting America's Treasures by 
Raising Inflow from Overseas Tourists Parks Act'' or the ``PATRIOT 
Parks Act''.

SEC. 2. SURCHARGE FOR INTERNATIONAL VISITORS TO UNITS OF THE NATIONAL 
 PARK SYSTEM.

    (a) Entrance Fee Surcharge.--

Section 803

    (e) of the Federal Lands 
Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802

    (e) ) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
 ``

    (3) Entrance fee surcharge for international visitors.--
 ``
        (A) Definition of international visitor.--In this 
 paragraph, the term `international visitor' means a 
 nonimmigrant individual admitted into the United States 
 under--
 ``
            (i) section 101

    (a)

    (15)
        (B) of the 
 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
 1101

    (a)

    (15)
        (B) ); or
 ``
            (ii) section 217 of the Immigration and 
 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187).
 ``
        (B) Entrance fee surcharge.--
 ``
            (i) In general.--For any unit of the 
 National Park System for which an entrance fee 
 is charged, the Secretary may, at the election 
 of the Secretary, or shall, on request of the 
 superintendent of the applicable unit of the 
 National Park System, authorize the 
 superintendent of the applicable unit of the 
 National Park System to establish for any 
 international visitors charged the entrance fee 
 a surcharge in an amount established by the 
 superintendent of the applicable unit of the 
 National Park System, by regulation, to be 
 collected by the Secretary in accordance with 
 this paragraph.
 ``
            (ii) Determination of surcharge amount.--
 In establishing the amount of a surcharge under 
 clause
            (i) , the superintendent of the 
 applicable unit of the National Park System 
 shall ensure that the amount maximizes revenue 
 for the applicable unit of the National Park 
 System while retaining international visitation 
 at the applicable unit of the National Park 
 System.
 ``
            (iii) Per-vehicle fee.--In a case in 
 which an entrance fee to a unit of the National 
 Park System subject to a surcharge under clause
            (i) is a per-vehicle charge, the Secretary 
 shall establish, by regulation, a process for 
 the superintendent of the applicable unit of 
 the National Park System to proportionately 
 levy and collect the surcharge from 
 international visitors under that clause.
 ``
            (iv) Methods of collection.--A surcharge 
 established under clause
            (i) shall be 
 collected--
 ``
            (I) by the Secretary, using the 
 standard methods by which entrance fees 
 may be collected for a unit of the 
 National Park System under this 
 section; and
 ``
            (II) if the Secretary enters into 
 an agreement with a third-party travel 
 vendor to provide for the collection of 
 the surcharge, by the applicable third-
 party travel vendor, in accordance with 
 the agreement.
 ``
            (v) Suspension or modification; 
 increase.--
 ``
            (I) Suspension or modification.--
 At the election of the Secretary or on 
 request of the superintendent of a unit 
 of the National Park System at which a 
 surcharge is established under clause
            (i) , the Secretary may suspend the 
 collection of, or otherwise modify, the 
 surcharge for the applicable unit of 
 the National Park System, including 
 providing for tiered pricing of the 
 surcharge based on visitation levels at 
 the unit of the National Park System, 
 as determined appropriate by the 
 Secretary.
 ``
            (II) Increase.--The Secretary may 
 establish a minimum percentage increase 
 that shall apply to a surcharge 
 established by a superintendent under 
 clause
            (i) within an applicable 
 timeframe established by the Secretary.
 ``
            (vi) Visa fees; administration.--A 
 surcharge established under clause
            (i) --
 ``
            (I) shall be in addition to, and 
 separate from, any statutory immigrant 
 visa fee charged to an international 
 visitor; and
 ``
            (II) shall not be subject to 
 administration by the Secretary of 
 State or the Secretary of Homeland 
 Security.
 ``
            (vii) Disposition of proceeds.--
 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all 
 proceeds from a surcharge on international 
 visitors collected under this paragraph shall 
 be retained by the applicable unit of the 
 National Park System at which the surcharge was 
 collected, to be distributed by the Secretary 
 for maintenance, visitor services, staffing, 
 and related needs at the unit of the National 
 Park System, as determined appropriate by the 
 Secretary.''.

    (b) Recreation Passes.--

Section 805

    (a) of the Federal Lands 
Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6804

    (a) ) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
 ``

    (11) Surcharge for certain international visitors.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish, 
 by regulation, a surcharge to be collected from the 
 sale of any National Parks and Federal Recreational 
 Lands Pass to an international visitor (as defined in 
 

section 803

    (e)

    (3)
        (A) ), the amount of which may be 
 increased by the Secretary in a percentage and in a 
 timeframe determined to be reasonable by the Secretary.
 ``
        (B) Disposition of proceeds.--Notwithstanding any 
 other provision of law, any amounts collected as a 
 surcharge under subparagraph
        (A) shall be deposited in 
 the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration 
 Fund established by 

section 200402

    (a) of title 54, 
 United States Code.''.
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