Congress redirects public-lands revenue to shore up Social Security

What it does

This bill directs the federal government to deposit 10% of annual revenue collected from public lands—such as oil and gas leases, timber sales, and mineral extraction—into Social Security's trust fund. The bill explicitly prohibits the Interior and Agriculture departments from raising prices to generate more revenue and protects existing payments to states, tribes, and local governments.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is straightforward: it redirects a fixed percentage of existing public-lands revenue to a specific trust fund. It is not a tax, subsidy, or deregulation—it is a revenue-allocation instruction.

What the text implies

• The bill does not specify which public-lands revenues are included (oil/gas leases, timber, mineral rights, recreation permits, etc.), creating potential ambiguity in implementation and future disputes over what counts as 'revenue generated.'
• A 10% diversion of public-lands revenue may reduce funding available for land management, conservation, and infrastructure on federal lands if those programs currently depend on that revenue stream.
• The bill does not address whether the 10% applies to revenue already committed to other federal programs or state/tribal revenue-sharing agreements, potentially creating conflicts with existing law.
• Social Security's trust fund faces a long-term solvency challenge; a 10% diversion of public-lands revenue (estimated at ~$10–15 billion annually) addresses only a fraction of the projected shortfall, leaving the core policy question unresolved.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill dedicates a new revenue stream to Social Security without cutting benefits, raising taxes on workers, or reducing payments to states and tribes. It shores up the trust fund's long-term solvency using existing public-resource extraction revenue, which is a public asset. The explicit prohibition on price increases and protection of state/tribal payments prevents cost-shifting.

Who stands to gain

• Social Security beneficiaries (retirees, disabled workers, survivors)
• Workers approaching retirement (deferred tax increases or benefit cuts)

Named in the bill

Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Social Security Administration, Federal Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund, States, Indian Tribes, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

Where it stands

16 cosponsors: 16 Republicans.

• Jan 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture and House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period…”
• Feb 10, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $5,326,409 in lobbying spend. A filing names 33 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Paul Gosar, the sponsor, reported $87,570 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• AARP — $5,300,000 on 1 filing
• Backcountry Hunters & Anglers — $26,409 on 2 filings
• Nebraska Hospital Association — $0 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 13, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.