Kamlager-Dove, Cortez Masto Introduce Legislation to Restore Juneteenth, MLK Day as Fee-Free Days at National Parks

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) introduced the Encouraging Public Service in Our National Parks and Public Land Act to restore and codify long-standing "fee-free days" at our national parks and other recreational lands. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) introduced the companion bill in the Senate.

Last year, under the Trump Administration, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth were removed from the list of fee-free days at national parks and replaced with Donald Trump's birthday (June 14), along with other days framed around "patriotic" themes rather than community service. This legislation would direct the Secretary of the Interior to officially designate MLK Day and Juneteenth as fee-free entry days, along with other long-standing days that have historically been used to promote public service and volunteerism in our public lands.

"It's ridiculous that Donald Trump thinks that he deserves more recognition than MLK Jr. or the millions of enslaved Black Americans who realized they had independence on Juneteenth. Why would we celebrate the birthday of a president that continues to increase costs, launch unnecessary wars, and erode the civil rights that these holidays aim to honor," said Rep. Kamlager-Dove. "Not only do these fee-free days recognize important days in American history, they are also used to promote public service within our public lands. The Encouraging Public Service in Our National Parks and Public Lands Act takes an important step to restoring the celebration these days deserve and asserting that the Presidency is more than just a way for Donald Trump to force Americans to celebrate his mediocrity."

"Free entry days in our National Parks have promoted cooperation between park rangers and visitors for decades-on these days, Americans work together to care for our public lands," said Senator Cortez Masto. "We need to make sure that these days continue to reflect our commitment to working together and being good stewards of our public lands through volunteering and service, not the President's self-promotion."

The Encouraging Public Service in Our National Parks and Public Lands Act would restore and codify Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth to the list of free entrance days at national parks, along with the following list of days that have historically been used to promote public service across federal land agencies:

• Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, the third Monday in January
• The first day of National Park Week in April
• Juneteenth, June 19
• Great American Outdoors Day, August 4
• National Public Lands Day, the fourth Saturday in September
• Veterans Day, November 11

Codifying these days ensures that future administrations cannot arbitrarily erase them or distort the purpose of the program. It also supports volunteerism, protects maintenance revenue by avoiding fee waivers on major high-traffic holidays, and restores the integrity and intent behind fee-free access to America's public lands.

This bicameral legislation was cosponsored in the House by Reps. Wesley Bell (MO-01), Andre Carson (IN-07), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Danny Davis (IL-07), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Shomari Figures (AL-02), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Henry "Hank" Johnson (GA-04), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Emily Randall (WA-06), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), and Marc Veasey (TX-33). Additional cosponsors in the Senate include Senators Mazie Hirono (HI), Adam Schiff (CA), and Ron Wyden (OR).

Bill text can be found here.

# # #