Today, the House passed H.R. 4680, the “National Park Service Centennial Act” (Chairman Rob Bishop, R-UT), bipartisan legislation to equip the National Park Service (NPS) with the tools to better manage and promote our national parks.

“[The Park Service has] some significant problems, namely a $12 billion backlog in their maintenance issues.” Chairman Bishop stated during floor debate. “It is fun to create a new national park; it is not sexy to talk about fixing a sewer system. So that requires us to be a little bit more creative than we have been in the past and to provide new tools so the Park Service can meet this challenge that they have.”

“I believe the three greatest challenges to federal lands management are to restore public access to the public lands, to restore sound management to the public lands, and to restore the federal government as a good neighbor to those communities directly affected by the public lands. This bill does all three,” Federal Lands Subcommittee Chairman, Tom McClintock (R-CA) said. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the last century and begin the next century of our National Park Service than to restore the vision of its founders.” 

"The National Park Foundation (NPF) applauds the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 4680. This important legislation will provide greater funding for our national parks and enhance our organization's ability to further leverage philanthropic support for these incredible places in their second century. We thank House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva for their leadership to ensure passage of H.R. 4680," National Park Foundation President & CEO, Will Shafroth said.

The “National Park Service Centennial Act” will provide the Park Service with new tools and authorities it can use to maintain and improve the system. Provisions in the bill help reduce the Service’s deferred maintenance backlog by generating new revenue to fund needed capital improvements. Other provisions will help leverage private philanthropic donations, offer enhanced visitor services, and expand the Volunteers in Parks program.

H.R. 4680 is the byproduct of bipartisan efforts and diverse stakeholder input, crafted in consultation with NPS, NPF, and other interested parties. Click here to view a support letter from the National Parks Second Century Action Coalition.

Click here for a summary of H.R. 4680.

Click here to watch Chairman Bishop's remarks on H.R. 4680 on the House floor.