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To direct the Secretary of the Interior to designate an entrance-fee- free date on September 17, 2026, at units of the National Park System to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill directs federal agencies to waive entrance and recreation fees at public recreational sites on September 17, 2026, to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. On that date, admission to all National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System units that normally charge entrance fees will be free. Standard recreation fees will also be waived for visitors to sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Forest Service. The fee waiver applies only to September 17, 2026.
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. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR)
4 cosponsors
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT)
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO)
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH)
Actions (2)
- Sep 18, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. · senate
- Sep 18, 2025 Introduced in Senate
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.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025
Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Daines, Mr. Hickenlooper, and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to designate an entrance-fee- free date on September 17, 2026, at units of the National Park System to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, 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 “Semiquincentennial Tourism and Access to Recreation Sites Act” or the “STARS Act”.
SEC. 2. WAIVED FEES AT PUBLIC RECREATIONAL SITES IN HONOR OF THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) Entrance fee.—The term “entrance fee” has the meaning given the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801).
(2) Standard amenity recreation fee.—The term “standard amenity recreation fee” has the meaning given the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801).
(b) Waiver of Fees.—In honor of the semiquincentennial of the United States—
(1) the Secretary of the Interior shall—
(A) designate September 17, 2026, as an entrance- fee-free date on which admission is free to all visitors with respect to each unit of the National Park System or unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System that charges an entrance fee; and
(B) waive standard amenity recreation fees on September 17, 2026, for each visitor to each site managed by the Bureau of Land Management or the Bureau of Reclamation that charges a standard amenity recreation fee; and
(2) the Secretary of Agriculture shall waive standard amenity recreation fees for September 17, 2026, for each visitor to each site managed by the Forest Service that charges a standard amenity recreation fee. <all>
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