PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Version 36 · Passed House amended · May 14, 2002
Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from awarding any concession that authorizes a person to use any land or water in the National Wildlife Refuge System for any activity conducted to provide accommodations, facilities, or services for visitors' recreational, educational, or interpretive enjoyment of System lands or waters, except under a standardized contract established pursuant to this Act.Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to issue regulations requiring that any activity conducted in the System under the contract must be: (1) a compatible use; and (2) designed to conserve the System's natural and cultural resources, facilitate the enjoyment of System lands and waters, and enhance visitors' knowledge of the natural resources.Requires the Secretary to include in any such contract provisions that: (1) authorize the person to maintain or repair any improvement on or in such land or water that the person is authorized to use; and (2) treat costs incurred by the person for such maintenance or repair as consideration otherwise required to be paid to the United States for such use.Requires amounts received by the United States as fees or other payments required under any contract for use of real property located in an area of the System to be available to the Secretary for expenditure: (1) for use at the refuge or refuge complex with respect to which the amounts were received; (2) to increase the quality of the visitor experience; and (3) for backlogged repair and maintenance projects, for interpretation, signage, habitat, or facility enhancement, for resource protection and preservation, or for administration of agreements from which such amounts are derived.Directs the Secretary to: (1) include in the comprehensive conservation plan for each refuge a description of the activities that may be conducted in the refugee and the lands, water, and facilities of the refuge that may be used under concession contracts; and (2) report annually to specified congressional committees on concessions activities in the System.
People & committees
Rep. Souder, Mark E. [R-IN-4] · R–IN
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2394-2395)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H2394-2395)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1370.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2394-2396)
Mr. Souder moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 270.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Resources. H. Rept. 107-455.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Resources. H. Rept. 107-455.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Executive Comment Requested from Interior.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.1370 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.1370 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.1370 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.1370 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.