Responsibly Enhancing America's Landscapes Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2783 To amend title 54, United States Code, to establish, fund, and provide for the use of amounts in a National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund to address the maintenance backlog of the National Park Service, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Mr. ENZI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 54, United States Code, to establish, fund, and provide for the use of amounts in a National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund to address the mainte- nance backlog of the National Park Service, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsibly Enhancing 4 America’s Landscapes Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2783 IS SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LEGACY RESTORATION 1 FUND. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1049 of title 54, United 3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘§ 104910. National Park Service Legacy Restoration 6 Fund 7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Na- 9 tional Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund estab- 10 lished by subsection (b). 11 ‘‘(2) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means the 12 overall plan of remediation of deferred maintenance 13 for an asset, which may include resolving directly re- 14 lated infrastructure deficiencies of the asset. 15 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 16 Treasury a fund, to be known as the ‘National Park Serv- 17 ice Legacy Restoration Fund’. 18 ‘‘(c) DEPOSITS.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 20 graph (3), for each of fiscal years 2020 through 21 2029, there shall be deposited in the Fund— 22 ‘‘(A) from fees collected under section 23 803(e) of the Federal Lands Recreation En- 24 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6802(e)), $5 per en- 25 trance fee (as defined in section 802 of that Act 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2783 IS (16 U.S.C. 6801)), adjusted annually for infla- 1 tion; 2 ‘‘(B) from fees collected under subpara- 3 graph (B)(i)(III) of section 217(h)(3) of the 4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 5 1187(h)(3)) for use of the electronic system for 6 travel authorization established under subpara- 7 graph (A) of that section, $16 per travel au- 8 thorization, adjusted annually for inflation; and 9 ‘‘(C) from fees collected under section 22.1 10 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, for 11 visa applications submitted by nonimmigrants 12 seeking temporary admission to the United 13 States for businesses or pleasure under section 14 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nation- 15 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)) (commonly 16 referred to as B–1 and B–2 visas), $25 per ap- 17 plication, adjusted annually for inflation. 18 ‘‘(2) INCREASE IN PARK ENTRANCE FEES.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 20 1, 2020, the Secretary of the Interior shall in- 21 crease each entrance fee (as defined in section 22 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhance- 23 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)) established for a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2783 IS unit of the National Park System under section 1 803(e) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 6802(e)) by $5. 2 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS FOR INFLATION.— 3 The Secretary of the Interior shall annually ad- 4 just the increase in the amount of each en- 5 trance fee required under subparagraph (A) for 6 inflation. 7 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited 8 in the Fund shall be available to the Secretary without 9 further appropriation or fiscal year limitation. 10 ‘‘(e) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may request 12 the Secretary of the Treasury to invest any portion 13 of the Fund that is not, as determined by the Sec- 14 retary, required to meet the current needs of the 15 Fund. 16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—An investment requested 17 under paragraph (1) shall be made by the Secretary 18 of the Treasury in a public debt security— 19 ‘‘(A) with a maturity suitable to the needs 20 of the Fund, as determined by the Secretary; 21 and 22 ‘‘(B) bearing interest at a rate determined 23 by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into 24 consideration current market yields on out- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2783 IS standing marketable obligations of the United 1 States of comparable maturity. 2 ‘‘(3) CREDITS TO FUND.—The income on in- 3 vestments of the Fund under this subsection shall be 4 credited to, and form a part of, the Fund. 5 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund shall be 6 used for the priority deferred maintenance needs of the 7 Service, as determined by the Secretary, to carry out re- 8 pair, restoration, or rehabilitation projects as follows: 9 ‘‘(1) Not less than 65 percent of amounts in 10 the Fund shall be allocated for non-transportation 11 projects, including— 12 ‘‘(A) historic structures, facilities, and 13 other historic assets; 14 ‘‘(B) structures, facilities, and other non- 15 historic assets that relate directly to the visitor 16 experience, including— 17 ‘‘(i) access, including making facilities 18 accessible to visitors with disabilities; 19 ‘‘(ii) health and safety; and 20 ‘‘(iii) recreation; and 21 ‘‘(C) administrative facilities, water and 22 utility systems, and employee housing. 23 ‘‘(2) The remaining amounts in the Fund may 24 be allocated to road, bridge, tunnel, or other trans- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2783 IS portation-related projects that may be eligible for 1 funding made available to the Service through— 2 ‘‘(A) the transportation program under 3 section 203 of title 23; or 4 ‘‘(B) any similar Federal land highway 5 program administered by the Secretary of 6 Transportation. 7 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED USE OF FUNDS.—No amounts in 8 the Fund shall be used— 9 ‘‘(1) for land acquisition; 10 ‘‘(2) to supplant discretionary funding made 11 available for the annually recurring facility oper- 12 ations, maintenance, and construction needs of the 13 Service; or 14 ‘‘(3) for bonuses for employees of the Federal 15 Government that are carrying out this section. 16 ‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF LIST OF PROJECTS TO CON- 17 GRESS.—As soon as practicable after the date of enact- 18 ment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the ap- 19 propriate committees of Congress— 20 ‘‘(1) a list of each project that— 21 ‘‘(A) as of the date of enactment of this 22 section, is identified by the Secretary as a high- 23 est-priority deferred maintenance project of the 24 Service; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2783 IS ‘‘(B) as of the date of the report, is ready 1 to be commenced immediately; and 2 ‘‘(2) for any project identified under paragraph 3 (1)(A) that is not ready to be commenced imme- 4 diately, a schedule for the completion of all reviews 5 with respect to the project (including the prepara- 6 tion of any environmental documents and historic 7 preservation analyses) that are necessary to com- 8 mence the project immediately. 9 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 10 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- 11 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re- 12 sources of the House of Representatives, as part of the 13 annual budget submission of the President— 14 ‘‘(1) a report that describes, and provides an 15 explanation for, any cost overruns or delays relating 16 to deferred maintenance projects carried out using 17 amounts from the Fund for the previous fiscal year; 18 and 19 ‘‘(2) a list of projects for which the amounts in 20 the Fund are allocated under this section, including 21 a description and cost-benefit analysis of each 22 project, after considering the list and schedules sub- 23 mitted under subsection (h). 24 ‘‘(j) PUBLIC DONATIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2783 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Di- 1 rector may accept public cash or in-kind donations 2 that advance efforts— 3 ‘‘(A) to reduce the deferred maintenance 4 backlog of the Service; and 5 ‘‘(B) to encourage relevant public-private 6 partnerships. 7 ‘‘(2) CREDITS TO FUND.—Any cash donations 8 accepted under paragraph (1) shall be credited to, 9 and form a part of, the Fund. 10 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Each donation received 11 under paragraph (1) that is used for, or directly re- 12 lated to, the reduction of the deferred maintenance 13 backlog of the Service shall be included with the an- 14 nual budget submission of the President to Con- 15 gress. 16 ‘‘(k) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 17 the date on which the first distributions are made from 18 the Fund, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 19 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 20 that describes, with respect to each project provided 21 amounts from the Fund during the period covered by the 22 report— 23 ‘‘(1) any progress with respect to the project, 24 including a comparison of the progress with respect 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2783 IS to other highest-priority deferred maintenance 1 projects of the Service; 2 ‘‘(2) the expenditure of amounts from the Fund 3 with respect to the project; and 4 ‘‘(3) the projected cyclic maintenance needs of 5 the project on completion of the project.’’. 6 (b) INCREASE IN CERTAIN VISA APPLICATION 7 FEES.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 10, 9 2020, the Secretary of State shall amend section 10 22.1 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, to in- 11 crease the application fee for visa applications sub- 12 mitted by nonimmigrants seeking temporary admis- 13 sion to the United States for businesses or pleasure 14 under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and 15 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)) (com- 16 monly referred to as B–1 and B–2 visas) by $25 per 17 application, which amount shall be— 18 (A) adjusted annually for inflation; and 19 (B) deposited in the National Park Service 20 Legacy Restoration Fund under section 21 104910(c)(1) of title 54, United States Code 22 (as added by subsection (a)). 23 (2) SUNSET.—The increase in the application 24 fee under paragraph (1) shall apply only to applica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2783 IS tions submitted to the Secretary of State not later 1 than September 30, 2029. 2 (c) INCREASE IN FEES FOR USE OF THE ELEC- 3 TRONIC SYSTEM FOR TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION.—Section 4 217(h)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 5 U.S.C. 1187(h)(3)(B)) is amended— 6 (1) in clause (i)— 7 (A) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 8 in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The initial 9 fee shall be the sum of—’’ and inserting the fol- 10 lowing: ‘‘Beginning on the first day of the first 11 fiscal year beginning after the date of enact- 12 ment of the Responsibly Enhancing America’s 13 Landscapes Act, the fee collected under this 14 subparagraph shall be an amount that is equal 15 to the sum of—’’; 16 (B) by striking subclause (I) and inserting 17 the following: 18 ‘‘(I) an amount not to exceed 19 $10, as determined by the Secretary, 20 which shall be for disposition in ac- 21 cordance with clause (ii)(I);’’; 22 (C) in subclause (II), by striking the pe- 23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 24 (D) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2783 IS ‘‘(III) $16 per travel authoriza- 1 tion, adjusted annually for inflation, 2 for disposition in accordance with sec- 3 tion 104910(c)(1)(B) of title 54, 4 United States Code.’’; 5 (2) in clause (ii)— 6 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 7 ‘‘Amounts’’ and inserting the following: 8 ‘‘(I) TRAVEL PROMOTION 9 FUND.—Amounts’’; and 10 (B) in subclause (I) (as so designated), in 11 the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Amounts’’ 12 and inserting the following: 13 ‘‘(II) FEES FOR THE SYSTEM.— 14 Amounts’’; and 15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(iv) SUNSET OF NATIONAL PARK 17 SERVICE LEGACY RESTORATION FUND 18 FEE.—The Secretary may not collect the 19 fee described in clause (i)(III) for a travel 20 authorization in a fiscal year beginning 21 after September 30, 2029.’’. 22 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 23 for chapter 1049 of title 54, United States Code, is 24 amended by adding at the end the following: 25 ‘‘104910. National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2783.IS S2783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2783 IS SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 1 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 2 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 3 shall— 4 (1) conduct a study with respect to the imple- 5 mentation of the National Park Service Legacy Res- 6 toration Fund under section 104910 of title 54, 7 United States Code (as added by section 2(a)), in- 8 cluding whether the Director of the National Park 9 Service is, with respect to projects carried out using 10 amounts from that Fund— 11 (A) properly estimating the cost for those 12 projects; 13 (B) adhering to time schedules and cost 14 projections for those projects; 15 (C) properly prioritizing deferred mainte- 16 nance projects; and 17 (D) properly moving completed projects off 18 of the high-priority deferred maintenance list of 19 the National Park Service in a timely manner; 20 and 21 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 22 the results of the study under paragraph (1). 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BIL [Text truncated for display. 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