[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2567. Mr. PADILLA submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 10__. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY OF RESERVATION 
                   SYSTEMS FOR RECREATION ACTIVITIES ON FEDERAL 
                   LAND.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Booking window.--The term ``booking window'', with 
     respect to a reservation system, means the time period during 
     which a reservation or lottery entry is available to the 
     public.
       (2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
       (A) public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal 
     Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702));
       (B) National Forest System land;
       (C) units of the National Park System;
       (D) units of the National Wildlife Refuge System;
       (E) sites administered by the Bureau of Reclamation; and
       (F) sites administered by the Corps of Engineers.
       (3) Recreation activity.--The term ``recreation activity'' 
     includes camping, backpacking, climbing, fishing, hiking, 
     driving, and other recreational opportunities.
       (4) Reservation system.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``reservation system'' means any 
     platform or method used by managers of Federal land to ration 
     recreation activities.
       (B) Inclusions.--The term ``reservation system'' includes 
     reservation, lottery, metering, pricing, merit-based, and 
     other similar rationing methods via online, telephone, paper, 
     in-person, or other methods.
       (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (b) Study.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the 
     Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Army, 
     acting through the Chief of Engineers, shall, not later than 
     60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, enter into 
     an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to carry 
     out a study of reservation systems for recreation activities 
     on Federal land.
       (2) Requirements.--In carrying out the study under 
     paragraph (1), the National Academy of Sciences shall carry 
     out the following:
       (A) A comprehensive review of the history of reservation 
     systems, such as recreation.gov, including a review of--
       (i) the studies that led to the establishment of the 
     applicable reservation system;
       (ii) the iterations of the applicable reservation system 
     over time to meet the needs of the applicable Federal agency; 
     and
       (iii) any visitor feedback provided with respect to the 
     applicable reservation system.
       (B) Based on available data and existing research, answer 
     the following questions:
       (i) What are the benefits and challenges of implementing 
     reservation systems for visitor management and conservation 
     goals for Federal land?
       (ii) What data are available to understand demand for 
     recreation on Federal land? How can the data be used to 
     balance visitor management and conservation goals?
       (iii) What information is available regarding Federal land 
     users and reservation system users? What information is 
     available or needs to be collected regarding demographics and 
     characteristics of successful applicants using the 
     reservation systems?
       (iv) What best practices should guide reservation system 
     design, including diversity of rationing mechanisms and 
     booking windows, and would promote equal access to recreation 
     activities? What metrics can be used to record outcomes of 
     reservation system design?
       (v) How have fees been collected for reservation systems 
     over time to meet the needs of the applicable Federal agency? 
     How are the revenues from fees for reservation systems split 
     between, and spent by, Federal land units, Federal agencies, 
     and third-party contractors? How is the fee structure 
     disseminated to users? How could dissemination of information 
     with respect to the fee structure be improved?
       (vi) What are the odds of success with respect to securing 
     a reservation under reservation systems? How are the odds of 
     success disseminated to users? How could dissemination of 
     information with respect to the odds of success be improved?
       (vii) How are data, including data collected by 
     contractors, on reservation systems shared with Federal land 
     managers, researchers, and the public? How can transparency 
     be improved to inform the decisionmaking of users of 
     reservation systems?
       (c) Report.--The agreement entered into under subsection 
     (b)(1) shall include a requirement that, not later than 18 
     months after the date of enactment of this Act, the National 
     Academy of Sciences shall submit to the appropriate 
     committees of Congress a report that describes the results of 
     the study carried out under subsection (b)(1).
                                 ______