Shortly before sunrise Saturday the U.S. Senate quickly and without debate passed the National Park Service Centennial Act, assuring the Park Service a relatively small, but helpful, infusion of dollars to help maintain the sprawling National Park System. U.S. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, made a motion about 6 a.m. Eastern that the House version of the legislation be approved with unanimous consent and the chamber agreed.
While the House passed its version of the act on Wednesday, the Senate version was attached to a massive Energy Bill that died.
Though it looked like Democrats in the Senate would force the government to shut down at midnight Friday over a dispute regarding the funding of health benefits for coal miners, they relented shortly before midnight and the chamber passed a Continuing Resolution to keep government operating into April. That provided the chamber with additional time to finish last-minute work, such as passage of the Park Service Centennial Act.
As passed by the House, the legislation increases the price of a lifetime pass for senior citizens 62 and older to $80 from its current $10 lifetime fee. Seniors who don't want to pay the $80 could purchase an annual pass for $20.
Park Service staff estimate that the increase in the cost of a senior pass would generate $20 million a year.
The legislation, drafted by U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, had bipartisan support in the House. It calls for deposit of up to $10 million generated from all Park Service sales of America The Beautiful - The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes into a Second Century Endowment for the National Park Service to be managed by the National Park Foundation. Any revenues above $10 million would be deposited in a Centennial Challenge fund for projects in the parks. However, they would need to be matched by private dollars before they could be spent as the legislation is written.
The House also approved an annual appropriation of $5 million to the National Park Foundation for each of the 2017-2023 fiscal years for use as matching funds for contributions made to the foundation.
Missing from the House bill was a request from Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, to amend the bill with a requirement that Congress appropriate an additional $300 million per year for fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019 to help the Park Service address its maintenance backlog, estimated at $12 billion.
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Comments
There goes my volunteering at National Parks. I don't want to explain this to our senior visitors who get a minimal increase to their SSI that doesn't even cover the cost of the Medicare increase.
B I
Most seniors who can afford to travel can afford to pay a ONE TIME FEE of $80 to visit the national parks. One pass is good for 4 people if they are also 62 or over. We got ours at a local Park office for $10. Thanks for volunteering, please don't stop. Thanks again, K
Because retirees visit our Nation Parks so much, this small fee, will help the park service maintain . A small sacrifice on our part.
The word "retiree" no longer applies to most of us just turning 62. Our privatized "retirement" funds went to buy new yachts for a few ultra wealthy fund administrators linked to our employers. You are actually talking about an entire generation being locked out of our national parks.
LETS INCREASE THE COST FOR THE SENIOR VISITORS, FUND THE PARKS ON MATCHING PUBLIC FUNDS AND WATCH THE POLITICANS PAT EACH OTHER ON THE BACK FOR SUCH A GREAT PIECE OF LEGISLATION. LETS KEEP MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
I'm laughing so hard I'm crying!
Danner, you're channeling my editorial for tomorrow...
Again law makers refuse to fund our national parks adequately. Instead let's place the burden on tax payers. We need to be vigilant against privatizing the national parks..it could happen.
I can live with an $80 lifetime fee. non seniors pay $80 per year. Now the need to force NF and BLM to accept pass at all locations and stop letting vendors ignor it.
William Guy has a point worth further investigation; is the new administration going to turn over the management of public lands to the highest paying private vendors to operate as they see fit and ignore the validity of the lifetime senior pass to enter "their" national park?
Those of us that already have the "pass" are grandfathered in, right?
Yes.
First Congress steals funds from Social Secunity and then they raise the Senior Pass 4 times the previous amount. I wonder if Congressmen and women have to pay to get in the parks.
If the NPS was really serious about increasing funding, why do they not increase the park fees for the foreign national Bus loads that visit each year. Many bring their own lunches and the tour buses pay a same fee for entrances.
I knew that was going to go away by the time I hit 65. Just like Social Security and Medicare will be gutted by then, too.
Just curious if those who badmouth foreign nationals spending their cash in our national parks aree the same as those who want to build that mythical southern border wall.
When does this take effect?
Still a bargain but an 8x increase makes the NPS look like complete fools.
Wild places, not sure why it makes NPS look life fools. Only Congress could increase that fee, not NPS.
It'll take place once the president signs the legislation and the NPS/BLM/USFWS converts all its pricing information/programming, or whatever else is necessary from the mechanical side.
Seniors have been paying taxes their entire life. Non-resident tourists pay the same rate as U.S. citizens, and pay no taxes.. A large percentage of visitors to our National Parks are forign visitors. Why not charge them a higher non-resident fee, much like you have to pay when visiting an out-of-state park? This is really unfair to Seniors.
Agreed. I believe non-us citizens should pay a higher fee.
I'm just uncomfortable when shades of xenophobia show their face.
When does this officially go into effect? My husband turns 62 on December 17.
I would think it would start 1/1/17 .Last time an increase was started on that date. If you're 62, grab your card now!
No word yet, but it's unlikely to take effect before Jan. 1. Your husband can buy one online, but there's a $10 additional processing fee. Here is a link to where he can go buy one in person as of his birthday: https://store.usgs.gov/pass/PassIssuanceList.pdf
I can live with the $80 lifetime fee. At least the current administration recorgnizes the need for increased funding in order to support our national parks.
People who can afford to travel and "camp" in $200,000 motor coach can certainly afford $80 for a lifetime pass.
If we are really going to Make America Great Again, one thing that has to happen is that everyone needs to pay their fair share to support the infrastructure and programs we all use. That includes health care (using the principals started with the Affordable Care Act) as well as park entrance fees and city services.
Oh sure...by all means increase the annual fee by a ton after their Social Security did NOT get an increase even though Senior visitors make up a large proportion of the parks visitors! Whose great idea was this?
NPS is funded from user fees, contributions and Federal tax dollars. I really don't want to see a National ID card needed to prove we are US Taxpayers to get into the parks, which is what would be needed to be able to charge non resident aliens an excess fee. The states depend on license plates or drivers license for proof of residence. We will pay for any increase in funds to NPS either through the increased Card Fee ($80 once for life! what a deal) and increased taxes should such a thing ever happen again.
Why don't we charge citizens/residents one price, and non citizens a higher entrance price? After all, my tax dollars already support the parks. But visitors, who visit the parks extensively, don't pay their fair share for maintenance.
They should have raised their fee structures across the board, rather than lump it all on the lifetime passes. Grand Canyon charging $30 per car for 7 days, regardless of how many people are in said vehicle, is almost theft.
When does it go into effect?
Unless we can honestly address the problem of recalcitrant Republicans in Congress and not just blame this debacle on the generic "congress" we'll never get adequate funding for our parks and forests. It's not Democrats holding up progress. It's Republicans.
$80 for a LIFETIME pass is still a bargain. Those oF us under 65 pay that per year. Our parks system is really struggling to maintain on the budget provided. I do support a higher entrance rate for non-citizens as they do not contribute to our tax base.
While I am sorry to see the Senior Pass cost increase, it is a small pittance in what value it provides to the bearer.
When you look at a Daily cost for an individual to get into Disneyland/Disneyworld, Vail Resorts or many Football and Baseball venues, it is a slam dunk in what value the $80 annual/senior pass is. Lets be honest here. When you see young families camped in a campground paying full price for their spot or entry fee, when a considerable portion of Seniors (Which by the way I am one these lucky ones too) are operating large motorhomes/5th Wheels/RVs paying a fraction of these costs. When I was a young parent I remember how hard it was for me struggling to pay for my National Park visits when I was just starting my family. We could only afford tent camping and backpacking with my two young children.
So I challenge all of us Seniors to stop complaining, because the funds do return to the parks/federal lands with 80% of its value remaining in the Park from which it was issued, I challenge Current/Future Senior Pass holders to purchase an Annual Pass for each of your Adult Children for their birthday, Christmas/Hanukah, Wedding presents. That way you knock out a gift that keeps on giving all year round and helps the National Parks, too!!
Pay it forward folks and stop complaining.
bryan
I have to agree on the Senior Pass Bryan. I'm a senior citizen, closer to 70 than 60, and on a small fixed income. Regardless, the pass is worth it.
While I am inclined to agree with Bryan and RickB, I think mixing privately owned resorts and public lands is apples and oranges. I am happy to pay a little more to support our parks, but they are public lands and should be affordable to all, not private sector entities that can charge what the market will bear. It is the fee creep that concerns me the most, it just allows congress to hold more funding for the parks. It is also a regressive tax, those least able to pay are affected the most. I do think Dr. Runte posted a very thought provoking comment on this issue. We simply cannot sustain the resources of the planet without paying attention to population increase and all the development, sprawl, pollution that it entails. I have always thought education was the key, but we are not doing very well in that regard. Political demagoguery dose not help much either, the attacks on women and their right to make their own reproductive health choices, along with other issues, is quite troubling. In any case, interesting discussion.
Why is it that it is always the seniors who pay for new programs or increases that our government wants to do. Remember Obama Care and the millions of dollars the government literally stole from the Social Security pot to pay for the future participants in Medicade. Why always the seniors who are signaled out first. Enough!!! If our National Parks need more money, how about increasing the fees for foreign travelers. Each foreign traveler should have to pay a substantial increase for the privilege to visit our National treasures. To have a flat fee for one tour bus is insane. Each traveler needs a substantial increase before attacking our seniors with this increase. Enough!!!!! My husband and I visit Yellowstone every year. We both have senior passes, but leave them at home and pay the $10.00 each year to help support our parks; however, I am not in favor of any increase for seniors.
Does America really believe that the National Parks will be saved by jumping the Senior pass from $10 to $80? That's an 800% increase folks. What would a stamp cost if its price jumped 800%? (Answer $3.92) And how many Americans would be outraged by that increase? But vulnerable seniors are an easy target and many seniors aren't even aware of the Senior Pass - so, no massive outrage. Yes, the $10 fee is, as I tell the people in my outdoor volunteer job, the best bargain on the planet, but it NOT fair to place the burden of saving the parks on the shoulders of seniors. It won't work anyway and is just a stopgap measure. This was obviously a rushed piece of legislation by Congress (what else is new?). It will not begin to solve the issue of increased use of the National Parks.
There is a lot of misinformation circulated in other comments, but I must agree with those who feel non-citizens should pay more. The parks are supported by American taxpayers. Fees for non-taxpayers, foreign visitors could/should be increased - partly because they have no vested interest in protecting and preserving these parks and no interest in obeying protection rules. As a frequent visitor, I see brutal mis-use of park lands. True, education hasn't made much difference. Perhaps it is "underfunded." Now there's an idea. Use the millions garnered by the 800% increase in senior fees to do a better job of educating people about taking better care of these parks.
But it will take more than that. Fees must be increased, but not on the backs of one, small group.