[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 141 (Monday, October 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ENTREPRENEURIAL MANAGEMENT REFORM ACT OF 1994

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4533) to promote entrepreneurial management of the National Park 
Service, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk reads as follows:

                               H.R. 4533

       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 ``National Park Service 
     Entrepreneurial Management Reform Act of 1994''.

     SEC. 2. FEES.

       (a) Admission Fees.--Section 4(a) of the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 and 
     following) is amended as follows:
       (1) In the first sentence of paragraph (1)(A)(i), by 
     striking ``$25'' and inserting ``$40''.
       (2) By amending the second sentence of paragraph (1)(A)(i) 
     to read as follows: ``The permittee and the accompanying 
     spouse, children, and parents of the permittee shall be 
     entitled to general admission into any area designated 
     pursuant to this section.''.
       (3) By modifying the margin of clause (ii) of paragraph 
     (1)(A) to align with the margin of clause (i).
       (4) By inserting at the end of clause (ii) of paragraph 
     (1)(A) the following: ``Such receipts shall be made 
     available, subject to appropriation, for authorized resource 
     protection, rehabilitation, and conservation projects as 
     provided for by subsection (i), including projects to be 
     carried out by the Public Land Corps or any other 
     conservation corps pursuant to the Youth Conservation Corps 
     Act of 1970 (16 U.S.C. 1701 and following), or other related 
     programs or authorities, on lands administered by the 
     Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
     Agriculture.''.
       (5) In paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``$15'' and inserting 
     ``$25'' and by adding at the end the following new sentence: 
     ``Any amount by which the fee for such an annual permit 
     exceeds $15 shall be credited to the appropriation account of 
     the unit of the National Park System that collected the fee, 
     shall be available to the unit without further appropriation, 
     and shall remain available until expended.''.
       (6) In paragraph (2), by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(2)'', 
     by striking the fifth and sixth sentences, by amending the 
     fourth sentence to read as follows:``The fee for a single-
     visit permit at any designated area shall be not more than $6 
     per person for persons entering by any means, except that the 
     fee shall not exceed $20 for all persons entering a 
     designated area in a single noncommercial vehicle.'', and by 
     adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) The Secretary shall establish a pilot project at 
     Yosemite National Park that utilizes incentives, including 
     waiving or reducing admission fees, to encourage use of 
     public transit which serves the purpose of reducing vehicular 
     traffic within Yosemite National Park.''.
       (7) In paragraph (3), by striking the last sentence.
       (8) In paragraph (4), by striking ``No other free permits 
     shall be issued to any person'' and inserting ``No other free 
     permits shall be issued to any person, except as otherwise 
     provided by this subsection''.
       (9) In paragraph (4), by amending the second sentence to 
     read as follows: ``Such permit shall be nontransferable, 
     shall be issued for a one-time charge of $10, and shall 
     entitle the permittee and the accompanying spouse of the 
     permitee to general admission into any area designated 
     pursuant to this subsection.''.
       (10) In paragraph (6) by striking ``on Interior and Insular 
     Affairs'' and inserting ``on Natural Resources''.
       (11) In paragraph (9), by striking ``San Juan National 
     Historic Site, and Canaveral National Seashore'' and 
     inserting ``and San Juan National Historic Site'' and by 
     adding the following at the end thereof: ``The Secretary of 
     the Interior shall submit a report to the Congress within 6 
     months after the enactment of this sentence respecting the 
     areas at which the Secretary determines admission fees would 
     be appropriate but at which such fees are prohibited by law 
     and respecting each area at which such fees are authorized 
     but not being collected (including an explanation of the 
     reasons that such fees are not being collected).''.
       (12) By amending paragraph (11) to read as follows:
       ``(11) In the case of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National 
     Parks, a single-visit fee collected at one unit shall also 
     admit the person who paid such fee for a single visit to the 
     other unit.''.
       (b) Penalty.--Section 4(e) of the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 and 
     following) is amended by striking ``$100'' and inserting 
     ``$1,000''.
       (c) Technical Amendments.--(1) Section 4(h) of the Land and 
     Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 and 
     following) is amended by striking ``on Interior and Insular 
     Affairs of the United States House of Representatives and 
     United States Senate'' and inserting ``on Natural Resources 
     of the United States House of Representatives and on Energy 
     and Natural Resources of the United States Senate'', by 
     striking ``Bureau of Outdoor Recreation'' and inserting 
     ``National Park Service'', and by striking ``Bureau'' and 
     inserting ``National Park Service''.
       (2) Section 4(g) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
     Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 and following) is amended by 
     striking ``or charges for commercial or other activities not 
     related to recreation''.
       (d) Use of Fees.--Section 4(i) of the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 and 
     following) is amended as follows:
       (1) By inserting ``Use of Fees.--'' after ``(i)''.
       (2) In the first sentence of paragraph (1)(B), by striking 
     ``fee collection costs for that fiscal year'' and inserting 
     ``fee collection costs for the immediately preceding fiscal 
     year'' and by striking ``section in that fiscal year'' and 
     inserting ``section in such immediately preceding fiscal 
     year''.
       (3) In the second sentence of paragraph (1)(B), by striking 
     ``in that fiscal year''.
       (4) In paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following 
     new subparagraph:
       ``(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and notwithstanding 
     any other provision of law, for fiscal years after fiscal 
     year 1995, the amount by which the entrance fee receipts 
     collected pursuant to this section by the National Park 
     Service (except for the portion of fee receipts withheld as 
     provided in subparagraph (B) for fee collection costs) 
     exceeds the entrance fee receipts collected pursuant to this 
     section by the National Park Service in fiscal year 1993 
     shall be covered into a special fund established in the 
     Treasury of the United States to be known as the `National 
     Park Renewal Fund'. Amounts in such fund shall be available 
     to the Secretary of the Interior, without further 
     appropriation, for resource protection, research, 
     interpretation, and maintenance activities related to 
     resource protection and visitor enjoyment in areas managed by 
     the National Park Service and shall be allocated among 
     national park system units in accordance with subsection (j). 
     Such amounts shall remain available until expended. The 
     Secretary shall develop procedures for the use of amounts in 
     the fund that ensure accountability and demonstrated results 
     consistent with the purposes of this Act. Beginning after the 
     first full fiscal year following enactment of this 
     subparagraph, the Secretary shall submit an annual report to 
     Congress, on a unit-by-unit basis, detailing the fees 
     receipts collected pursuant to this section and the 
     expenditures of such receipts.''.
       (e) Time of Reimbursement.--Section 4(k) of the Land and 
     Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 and 
     following) is amended by striking the last sentence.
       (f) Fees for Special Uses.--Section 4 of the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-4 and 
     following) is amended by adding the following new subsection 
     at the end:
       ``(o) Fees for Special Uses.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     shall establish reasonable fees for nonrecreational uses of 
     national park system units that require special arrangements, 
     including permits. The fees shall be set at such level as the 
     Secretary deems necessary to insure that the United States 
     will receive fair market value for the use of the area 
     concerned and shall, at a minimum, cover all costs of 
     providing necessary services associated with such special 
     uses, except that the Secretary may, in his discretion, waive 
     or reduce such fees in the case of any nonprofit organization 
     or any organization using an area within the national park 
     system for educational or park-related purposes. 
     Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 
     shall retain so much of the revenue from such fees as is 
     equal to fee collection costs and the costs of providing the 
     necessary services associated with such special uses. Such 
     retained amounts shall be credited to the appropriation 
     account for the national park system unit concerned and shall 
     remain available until expended, beginning in the fiscal year 
     in which the amounts are so credited.''.
       (g) Admission or Recreation Use Fees.--Section 4 of the 
     Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-
     4 and following) is amended by adding the following new 
     subsection at the end:
       ``(p) Admission or Recreation Use Fees.--Notwithstanding 
     any other provision of law, no admission or recreation use 
     fee of any kind shall be charged or imposed for entrance 
     into, or use of, any federally owned area operated and 
     maintained by a Federal agency and used for outdoor 
     recreation purposes, except as provided for by this Act.''.

     SEC. 3. CHALLENGE COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS.

       (a) Agreements.--The Secretary of the Interior is 
     authorized to negotiate and enter into challenge cost-share 
     agreements with cooperators. For purposes of this section--
       (1) The term ``challenge cost-share agreement'' means any 
     agreement entered into between the Secretary and any 
     cooperator for the purpose of sharing costs or services in 
     carrying out any authorized functions and responsibilities of 
     the Secretary with respect to any unit of the national park 
     system (as defined in section 2(a) of the Act of August 8, 
     1953 (16 U.S.C. 1b-1c)), any affiliated area, or any 
     designated national scenic or historic trail.
       (2) The term ``cooperator'' means any State or local 
     government, public or private agency, organization, 
     institution, corporation, individual, or other entity.
       (b) Use of Federal Funds.--In carrying out challenge cost-
     share agreements, the Secretary is authorized, subject to 
     appropriation, to provide the Federal funding share from any 
     funds available to the National Park Service.

     SEC. 4. COST RECOVERY FOR DAMAGE TO NATIONAL PARK RESOURCES.

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any funds 
     payable to United States as restitution on account of damage 
     to national park resources or property shall be paid to the 
     Secretary of the Interior. Any such funds, and any other 
     funds received as a result of forfeiture, compromise, or 
     settlement on account of damage to national park resources or 
     property shall be credited to the appropriation account for 
     the national park system unit concerned and shall be 
     available, without further appropriation, for expenditure by 
     the Secretary, without regard to fiscal year limitation, to 
     improve, protect, or rehabilitate any park resources or 
     property which have been damaged by the action of a permittee 
     or any unauthorized person.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Vento] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Wyoming [Mr. Thomas] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento].


                             general leave

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
H.R. 4533, the bill now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4533, The National Park Service Entrepreneurial 
Management Reform Act, is a bill I introduced at the request of the 
administration. The bill provides expanded authority for the collection 
of entrance and user fees at National Park System units and gives 
greater flexibility to the national park service to establish 
partnerships with State or local government, as-well-as with public or 
private agencies or organization under the National Park Service's 
challenge cost-share program.
  H.R. 4533, as amended, contains a number of elements recommended in 
Vice President Gore's national performance review. The fee portion of 
the bill gives the Secretary of the Interior some considerable new 
discretion to set entrance, recreation and special use fees. The bill 
as amended removes the current caps on entrance fees, which, for the 
most part, limit entrance fees to $5 per vehicle or $3 per individual 
and replaces them with an overall cap of no more $6 per person. It 
retains the provisions in law prohibiting entrance fees for children 
age or 16 or younger, Current statutory prohibitions on entrance fee 
collection at urban parks with multiple entrance points would be 
eliminated. In addition, the bill contains a new special park use fee 
which allows the Park Service to charge non-park event holders fair 
market value for the use of Federal land.
  H.R. 4533 provides that beginning in Fiscal year 1996, the Park 
Service would keep 100 per cent of new recreations fees they collect 
over the 1993 base year. These monies would go into a National Park 
renewal fund which will be available without further appropriation for 
infrastructure needs at National Park units. These would include 
facility repair and replacement, resource protection, interpretive 
exhibits and other projects.
  In addition, H.R. 4533 authorizes the Secretary to recover 
restitution on account of damage to park resources or property 
resulting from vandalism or accidental damage. Settlement money would 
go to the National Park Service for park purposes. The bill also 
expands the current challenge cost-share program to allow any funds 
appropriated for the operation of the National Park Service to be used 
to carry out challenge cost-share agreements.
  Mr. Speaker, a case can be made for increasing entrance fees if 
certain principles are upheld. The National Park Service like other 
agencies and programs of the Federal Government is operating under 
severe financial restraints. The American people own the National Parks 
and they are already paying for them through their taxes. They are 
willing to pay reasonable fees for entry to and use of these lands but 
only if there is a direct connection between the fees collected and the 
improvement of opportunities for enjoyment of park lands. In raising 
entrance fees, we must be careful not to raise them so high that they 
dissuade people from going to our National Parks. Finally, fee 
increases must be carried out in a context of mutual sacrifice by other 
users of parks and public lands, including commercial users such as 
telecommunications, pipelines, commercial tours and others. Enactment 
of this legislation will assure that a fair fee is paid by all users of 
our National Parks and that the money will be used to benefit park 
resources, therefore I urge my colleagues' support. Mr. Speaker, I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4533, legislation to authorize 
an increase in park entrance fees and to return funds collected to the 
National Park Service.
  Mr. Speaker, we spend a lot of time in this body discussing increases 
in grazing fees and timber receipts, but it may surprise many Members 
to learn that recreationists on Federal lands receive a larger subsidy 
than all other users of Federal lands combined. In 1994, recreationists 
on Federal lands received a total subsidy of about $1.2 billion. To put 
it another way, recreationists pay about 10 to 15 cents on the dollar 
for the services they receive. By comparison, the administration claims 
that the cost to administer the grazing program on Federal lands 
exceeds receipts by about $18 million annually.
  When Vice President Gore announced the administration's program for 
entrepreneurial reform of the Park System as part of his reinventing 
government effort, and he claimed it would generate $993 million over 
the next 6 years. Those estimates turned out to be greatly exaggerated; 
in fact, the National Park Service today has no idea of how those 
figures were generated.
  The bill we are presenting today will generate an estimated $30 
million in additional funds annually for the park system. In light of 
the huge backlogs facing parks around the country, this amount of 
funding will do little to solve the financial problems facing our parks 
today.
  I somewhat reluctantly support this measure today, not as a solution 
to the problems facing our parks, but as the smallest first step we can 
take to address the huge backlogs facing this agency.

                              {time}  2040

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I urge 
passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro temp. (Mr. INSLEE). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4533, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro temp. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 5, rule I, 
and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion 
will be postponed.

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