[Senate Report 115-394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 680
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-394
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EVERY KID OUTDOORS ACT
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November 28, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
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Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3186]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (H.R. 3186) to establish an Every Kid
Outdoors program, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 3186 is to establish an Every Kid
Outdoors program, to provide free access to federal land and
waters for certain students.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The ``Every Kid in a Park'' initiative was launched by
President Obama in February 2015 as part of the lead-up to the
2016 National Park Service (NPS) Centennial Celebration. The
initiative was initially described as a ``call to action'' to
``inspire the next generation to discover all that America's
public lands and waters have to offer.'' The program initially
provided fourth grade students and their families' free
admission to all National Parks and other federal lands and
waters for a year. Expanding beyond the first year of the
initiative, the Every Kid in A Park program eventually included
the distribution of planning information and educational
materials for teachers and families as well as the inclusion of
transportation grants (in partnership with the National Park
Foundation), all of which continue today.
In Fiscal Year 2017, the President's Budget included a
request (through the NPS) to fund 100 ``Every Kid in a Park''
initiatives at $20 million, including funding to support park-
level coordinators at a cost of $8.5 million, as well as $11.5
million for transportation costs. Although not specifically
funded by Congress, the Centennial Challenge grant program
funded some aspects of the program.
The ``Every Kid in a Park'' program has continued each year
since its inception, despite some reported efforts to eliminate
the program. In addition, several states have worked with the
NPS and the National Park Foundation to coordinate programming.
H.R. 3186 builds upon the ``Every Kid in a Park'' program
by authorizing free passes to all federal public lands for all
fourth graders and age-equivalent homeschoolers, renaming the
program ``Every Kid Outdoors,'' and codifying the program. H.R.
3186 also allows for additional collaborative opportunities
between the Department of the Interior (DOI) and State Park
systems, as well as between DOI and the Department of
Education.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Representative Tsongas introduced H.R. 3186 in the House of
Representatives on July, 11, 2017. The Committee on Natural
Resources favorably reported H.R. 3186, as amended, on August
3, 2018 (H. Rept. 115-880), and the measure was passed by the
House of Representatives on September 12, 2018, by a vote of
383 to 2.
Senators Heinrich and Alexander introduced companion
legislation, S. 1522, on July 10, 2017. The Subcommittee on
National Parks conducted a hearing on S. 1522 on July 19, 2017.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on October 2, 2018 and ordered H.R. 3186
favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on October 2, 2018, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R.
3186.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 provides the short title.
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 contains key definitions.
Section 3. Every Kid Outdoors Program
Subsection (a) directs the Secretaries of the Interior,
Agriculture, Commerce, and the Army to establish jointly the
``Every Kid Outdoors'' program, to provide free access to
federal land and waters for students (defined as fourth graders
or home-schooled learners 10 years of age residing in the
United States, including territories or possessions of the
United States) and accompanying individuals.
Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretaries to issue an
annual pass to the students, which provides for free access to
all Federal lands and waters that are subject to an entrance,
standard amenity, or day use fee. The subsection further
specifies the number of people who may accompany the student on
the free pass and details the effective time period of the
pass.
Subsection (c) authorizes the Secretaries, in carrying out
the program, to collaborate with State Park systems that opt to
implement a complementary Every Kid Outdoors State park pass;
coordinate with the Secretary of Education to implement the
program; maintain a publicly available website with program
information; provide visitor services for the program; and
provide approved partners of the Federal land and waters with
opportunities to participate in the program.
Subsection (d) requires the Secretary of the Interior, in
coordination with each of the other Secretaries, to prepare a
comprehensive annual report to Congress detailing the program's
implementation, the number and geographical distribution of
student participants, and the number of passes distributed by
the program.
Subsection (e) sunsets the program seven years after the
Act's enactment.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 3186 would establish the Every Kid Outdoors program,
which would allow fourth grade students and certain
accompanying adults free access to federal public lands and
waters administered by the Department of the Interior, the
Forest Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration where an entrance fee is
charged. Because the act would codify the existing Every Kid in
a Park program, CBO estimates that implementing that provision
would result in no additional costs.
The act also would require the participating agencies to
submit an annual report to the Congress on the program. Based
on the costs of similar reports, CBO estimates that
implementing that provision would cost less than $500,000 over
the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 3186 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3186 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 3186 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On June 8, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
3186, the Every Kid Outdoors Act, as ordered reported by the
House Committee on Natural Resources on May 16, 2018. The two
pieces of legislation are similar, and CBO's estimates of their
budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out H.R. 3186. The Act is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of H.R. 3186, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 3186, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at
the July 19, 2017, hearing on S. 1522, companion legislation to
H.R. 3186, follows:
Statement of Robert Vogel, Acting Deputy Director, National Park
Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
Chairman Daines, Ranking Member Hirono, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Department of the Interior's views on S. 1522, a bill to
establish an Every Kid Outdoors program, and for other
purposes.
The Department recommends that Congress defer action on S.
1522 until we have an opportunity to review all of the
Department's youth programs and determine the most cost-
effective strategies for engaging children, youth, and young
adults in our nation's great outdoors.
S. 1522 would establish in statute a program based on the
administratively established ``Every Kid in a Park,'' which was
an initiative launched during the National Park Service's
Centennial in 2016 as one way to connect with and create the
next generation of park visitors. To date, Every Kid in a Park
has reached over 350,000 fourth graders across the country and
has provided an outdoor classroom for teachers and students
across our 417 national park sites and other public lands.
S. 1522 would build upon Every Kid in a Park and continue
to nurture and create future generations of stewards as they
learn about their environment and conservation all while
enjoying and recreating in America's great outdoors.
S. 1522 would direct seven specified bureaus in four
agencies to jointly establish the Every Kid Outdoors program to
provide any United States fourth grader with a pass to gain
free access to publicly accessible Federal lands and waters.
The bureaus that would establish and administer the program
would be the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of
Reclamation, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. The student would request a pass which allows the
student and accompanying individuals free entry to applicable
Federal lands and waters managed by the above-listed agencies.
The pass would be valid from September 1 to August 31 of the
following year, and would require the student to be present at
time of entry for the pass to be honored.
S. 1522 would require the agencies to collaborate with
state park systems interested in adopting a complimentary Every
Kid Outdoors state park pass. It would also require the
agencies to develop and maintain an official Every Kid Outdoors
website that would contain essential program information. All
the participating agencies would be authorized to provide a
variety of visitor services in support of the Every Kid
Outdoors program.
The bill would require the agencies to jointly develop an
annual report, to be submitted to Congress, describing the
implementation and execution of the program in addition to
capturing statistical data such as the number and the
geographical distribution of students who participated in the
program, and the number of passes obtained and redeemed. If the
bill were enacted, execution of its requirements would be
subject to the availability of appropriations and would need to
be balanced with other competing priorities.
In developing the Every Kid in a Park program, the
Department focused on children 10 years of age--the age of most
fourth graders--based on research that indicated children ages
9-11 are at a unique developmental stage in their learning
where they begin to understand how the world around them works
in more concrete ways. At this stage, they are highly receptive
to new ideas and most likely to hold positive attitudes towards
nature and the environment. By targeting this age group year
after year, the program aims to ensure every child in the
United States has the opportunity to visit their Federal lands
and waters by the time he or she is 11 years old, thereby
establishing a lifelong connection to enjoy and protect our
American outdoor heritage.
If the committee acts on this bill, we recommend that the
committee amend the bill in several areas: to include home-
schooled students; to better define ``access'' to public lands;
and to allow coordination with the Department of Education. We
would be happy to work with the sponsors and the committee on
language for these amendments.
Chairman Daines, this concludes my statement. I would be
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the
subcommittee might have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the Act as ordered
reported.
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