One free day at America's parks marks 250 years
S. 2896 — STARS Act · Filed by John Boozman (R-AR) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 18, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the federal government to make all national parks, wildlife refuges, and certain public lands free to visit on September 17, 2026, to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. Visitors benefit from one day of waived entrance and recreation fees across the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, Bureau of Land Management sites, Bureau of Reclamation sites, and Forest Service lands.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a one-day waiver of entrance and recreation fees at federal sites on a specific anniversary date. It is a symbolic gesture tied to the 250th anniversary of the United States, not a structural policy change or permanent fee elimination.
What the text implies
- The waiver applies only to September 17, 2026 — a single date — so the public benefit is temporary and symbolic rather than structural. No permanent change to fee policy results.
- The bill does not address whether the federal government will promote or publicize the fee-free date, so actual uptake and public awareness may be limited.
- Revenue loss to the National Park Service and other agencies on that single day is not quantified, but is likely modest given the one-day scope.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens gain free access to federal recreational sites on a single commemorative date, removing a cost barrier to public lands use. The benefit is modest (one day only) and symbolic rather than structural, but there is no offsetting cost to the public — the waiver is a temporary fee suspension, not a permanent subsidy or liability shield.
Named in the bill
National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Forest Service, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Sep 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 18, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 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 (1,347 characters) on Aug 19, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 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 2026-10-20.
“One free day at America's parks marks 250 years” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s2896 Report an error
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