Pennsylvania rural region gains federal heritage planning support for 15 years
H.R. 8114 — Endless Mountains National Heritage Area Act · Filed by Daniel Meuser (R-PA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Mar 26, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill designates the Endless Mountains region in northeastern Pennsylvania (Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming Counties, plus other identified areas) as a National Heritage Area, a federal designation that allows the region to receive planning assistance and coordination support from the Department of Interior for 15 years. A local nonprofit, Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc., will manage the area and must submit a management plan within 3 years.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative function is to add one geographic region to an existing federal heritage area system, enabling it to access planning and coordination assistance from the Department of Interior for a defined 15-year period.
What the text implies
- The bill does not appropriate funds; actual financial benefit depends on Interior Dept. discretionary spending and future congressional appropriations to the National Heritage Area program.
- The local coordinating entity (Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc.) gains authority to direct federal planning assistance and potentially manage grant programs, concentrating regional decision-making in a single nonprofit.
- The 15-year sunset is automatic; reauthorization would require new legislation, creating a potential cliff for ongoing programs if Congress does not act.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The designation provides a rural Pennsylvania region with federal planning resources, coordination support, and potential grant eligibility for heritage conservation and economic development without imposing new restrictions on residents. The 15-year sunset ensures the program does not become permanent without reauthorization.
Who stands to gain
- Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc. (local coordinating entity)
- Rural Pennsylvania counties (Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wyoming) — potential recipients of fed
Named in the bill
Endless Mountains National Heritage Area, Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Inc., Department of Interior, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, National Heritage Area System
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Mar 26, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 26, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,059 characters) on Oct 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,778 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-31.
“Pennsylvania rural region gains federal heritage planning support for 15 years” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr8114 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.