What This Bill Does · Plain English
Summary · Congress.gov
Semiquincentennial Tourism and Access to Recreation Sites Act or the STARS Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to designate September 17, 2026, as an entrance-fee free date in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. On that date, Interior must waive (1) the entrance fees for all visitors of National Park Service or National Wildlife Refuge System sites; and (2) the standard amenity recreation fees for all visitors to each site managed by the Bureau of Land Management or the Bureau of Reclamation. The Forest Service must waive the standard amenity recreation fees on that date for all visitors to sites it manages.
Action Timeline
2025-09-18
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
2025-09-18
Introduced in Senate
Frequently Asked Questions
Did S.2896 pass?
S.2896 is still alive. Current stage: COMMITTEE. Pass likelihood: pending.
What does S.2896 do?
Semiquincentennial Tourism and Access to Recreation Sites Act or the STARS Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to designate September 17, 2026, as an entrance-fee free date in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. On that date, Interior must waive (1) the entrance fees for all visitors of National Park Service or National Wildlife Refuge System sites; and (2) the standard amenity recreation fees for all visitors to each site managed by the Bureau of Land Management or the Bureau of Reclamation. The Forest Service must waive the …
Who sponsored S.2896?
S.2896 was sponsored by John Boozman (R-Arkansas).
Full Bill Text
119 S2896 IS: Semiquincentennial Tourism and Access to Recreation Sites Act U.S. Senate 2025-09-18 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2896 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. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Semiquincentennial Tourism and Access to Recreation Sites Act or the STARS Act . 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.
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