HR 34 · 119th CongressIn Committee

LASSO Act

Latest updateFeb 3, 2026

Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

Public Lands and Natural Resources

Sponsor

Paul Gosar

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

February 10, 2026

Legislative Progress

How far this bill has traveled through Congress

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Subcommittee Hearings Held

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The federal government currently collects substantial revenue from public lands through activities like oil and gas leasing, timber sales, grazing permits, and recreational fees. These revenues are managed by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. Historically, most of this revenue has been allocated to land management, conservation programs, state payments, and tribal distributions. The Social Security Trust Fund, which finances retirement and disability benefits, faces long-term solvency challenges as the ratio of workers to beneficiaries declines.

The LASSO Act requires the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to deposit 10 percent of annual revenue collected from covered public lands into the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund. Covered public lands include all lands under Interior Department jurisdiction—including federal onshore lands and submerged lands on the Outer Continental Shelf—as well as lands managed by the Forest Service. The bill explicitly prohibits the secretaries from raising prices on public land activities to generate additional revenue and protects existing payments to states, Indian tribes, territories, and local governments, ensuring those distributions remain unchanged.

Implementation begins in the fiscal year following enactment, with 10 percent of prior-year collections redirected annually. The funding source is existing public land revenue, not new appropriations. This mechanism diverts a portion of revenue that would otherwise support land management budgets, conservation initiatives, and state-tribal revenue sharing. The downstream effect reduces available funding for Department of the Interior and Forest Service operations unless Congress appropriates additional funds to offset the diversion. The Social Security Trust Fund receives a recurring revenue stream, though the amount fluctuates based on annual public land revenues, which vary with commodity prices and leasing activity.

Key Provisions

1Requires the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to deposit 10 percent of annual public land revenue into the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund beginning in the fiscal year after enactment.
2Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture from raising prices on public land activities to increase revenue generation under this Act.
3Protects existing revenue distributions to states, Indian tribes, territories, and local governments by ensuring those payments are not reduced by the Social Security deposit requirement.
4Defines covered public lands as all lands under Department of the Interior administrative jurisdiction, including submerged lands on the Outer Continental Shelf, and all lands managed by the Forest Service.

★ Why this matters

The bill redirects a portion of existing federal revenue streams to shore up Social Security's trust fund without raising taxes or cutting benefits. This diverts funding that currently supports public land management, conservation, and infrastructure on federal properties. The amount deposited varies annually based on commodity prices and leasing activity, creating an unpredictable revenue source for Social Security while reducing predictable funding for land agencies.

● Who this affects

Public land managers at the Department of the Interior and Forest Service face reduced operating budgets unless Congress appropriates replacement funds. States, counties, and Indian tribes that receive revenue-sharing payments from public lands are protected under the bill but may see reduced funding for land management in their regions. Oil and gas companies, timber operators, and other extractive industries operating on federal lands experience no price increases. Social Security beneficiaries and future retirees benefit from increased trust fund resources, though the amount is modest relative to the fund's long-term financing gap.

Bill Text

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<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 34

  To deposit portions of revenue generated from public lands into the 
                      Social Security Trust Fund.

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

  Mr. Gosar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

                                 A BILL

 
  To deposit portions of revenue generated from public lands into the 
                      Social Security Trust Fund.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Land And Social Security 
Optimization Act'' or ``LASSO Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC LAND REVENUE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUND.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other law, each fiscal year, 
10 percent of amounts collected by the Department of the Interior and 
the Department of Agriculture from the revenue generated by covered 
public lands during the preceding fiscal year shall be deposited into 
the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund established under section 
201(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(a)).
    (b) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
as--
            (1) authorizing the Secretary of the Interior or the 
        Secretary of Agriculture to raise the price of any of the 
        activities through which revenue is generated on covered public 
        lands; or
            (2) reducing amounts made available to States, Indian 
        Tribes, territories, or local governments from revenue 
        generated by covered public lands.
    (c) Covered Public Lands Defined.--In this Act, the term ``covered 
public lands'' means any land under the administrative jurisdiction--
            (1) of the Department of the Interior, including submerged 
        lands on the Outer Continental Shelf (as such term is defined 
        in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 
        U.S.C. 1331); or
            (2) the Forest Service.
                                 <all>

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