Under current law, permanently disabled U.S. citizens, including disabled veterans, may obtain free lifetime National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes, which cover national park entrance fees and certain other fees associated with using public land. S. 327 would clarify disabled veterans’ eligibility for the free passes.
Enacting S. 327 could reduce purchases of annual passes by disabled veterans (who did not know they were already eligible for a free pass under current law), thus lowering collections that are classified as mandatory offsetting receipts in the federal budget. However, based on information from the National Park Service, CBO expects that any reduction in receipts would be insignificant. Moreover, because those receipts are spent without further appropriation any decrease in receipts also would decrease direct spending. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would have a negligible effect on net direct spending over the 2020-2030 period.
