S 2308

Introduced

PATRIOT Parks Act

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.

Introduced Jul 16, 2025

Latest action (Dec 9, 2025) Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held.

Referred to

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Policy area

Public Lands and Natural Resources

Legislative subjects (3)

Parks, recreation areas, trails Travel and tourism User charges and fees

Summary

This bill authorizes the National Park Service to collect a surcharge from international visitors to units of the National Park System. The surcharge would be added to entrance fees for international visitors (defined as nonimmigrants admitted under tourist or visa waiver programs) and collected by park superintendents using standard fee collection methods. Park superintendents would determine the surcharge amount by regulation to maximize revenue while maintaining international visitation. Proceeds from the entrance fee surcharges would be retained by individual parks for maintenance, visitor services, staffing, and related needs. The bill also establishes a separate surcharge on National Parks passes sold to international visitors, with proceeds directed to the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN)

3 cosponsors

Actions (3)

Dec 9, 2025 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. · senate
Jul 16, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. · senate
Jul 16, 2025 Introduced in Senate

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Committee action

What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Hearings to examine S.290, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to upgrade existing emergency communications centers in units of the National Park System to Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, S.332, to require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools, S.446, to prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness or as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, S.573, to designate a mountain in the State of Alaska as Denali, S.601, to remove restrictions from a parcel of land in Paducah, Kentucky, S.730, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of establishing the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Educational Center at the African Burial Ground National Monument, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, H.R.186, and S.858, bills to authorize the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation to establish a commemorative work on the National Mall to honor the extraordinary acts of valor, selfless service, and sacrifice displayed by Medal of Honor recipients, S.1088, to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1131, to establish the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve in the State of Georgia, S.1135, to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, S.1280, to designate six creeks in North Carolina in honor of the lives lost in a plane crash in Carteret County, North Carolina, on February 13, 2022, S.1353, to extend the authority for modifications to the Second Division Memorial in the District of Columbia, S.1377, to ensure the maintenance of a herd of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, S.1518, to redesignate the Saratoga National Historical Park as the "Saratoga National Battlefield Park", S.1777, to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center", S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.1926, to encourage reduction of disposable plastic products in units of the National Park System, S.2270, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the portion of the Myakka River in Sarasota County, Florida, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, S.2308, to amend the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international visitors to units of the National Park System, S.2369, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to remove or permanently conceal the name of Francis Newlands on the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District of Columbia, S.2385, to codify Executive Order 14253 relating to restoring truth and sanity to American history, S.2546, to provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, S.2708, to enhance the preservation, maintenance, and management of national historic trails and national scenic trails, S.2970, to authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, and H.R.249, to redesignate certain facilities at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in honor of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.Energy and Natural Resources CommitteeDec 9, 2025Business meeting

Full text

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

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.”. <all>

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Summary

Sponsor (1)

Actions (3)

Related bills (1)

More bills on these subjects (8)

Similar bills (6)

Committee action

Meetings where this bill was on the agenda

Full text

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