Beaches can hire local lifeguards when jobs go unfilled

What it does

The Interior Secretary can hire lifeguards from local groups to work at public beaches. This happens when the government cannot fill those jobs. Local lifeguards do the same rescue and safety work as government lifeguards. The government must pay local groups for all costs.

Who it affects

Swimmers at public beaches get lifeguard help even when jobs are empty. Local groups get paid by the government to provide lifeguards.

One thing to notice

The bill only lets the Secretary use local lifeguards when there is a real staffing shortage. It does not let the Secretary use local lifeguards for routine vacation or sick leave.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

• Aug 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Aug 29, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
• Dec 2, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
• Jul 22, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jul 22, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent”
• Sep 14, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote”
• Sep 14, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

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

Money around this bill

1 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 1 reports from Dec 2025 to Dec 2025.

Those reports show $139,430 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 46 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 0% of bills with any report.

Jennifer Kiggans, who sponsored the bill, received $1,378,089 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• National Parks Conservation Association — $139,430 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• Interior Secretary — The head of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which manages public lands and beaches.
• public beaches — Beaches and swimming areas owned and run by the U.S. government.
• staffing shortage — When a workplace does not have enough workers to do the job.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.