Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7832

America’s Living Library Act

National Parks: Mapping Wildlife DNA

Mar 5·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

The America’s Living Library Act is currently in the committee stage and has not moved since March 2026. Nothing has happened with this bill for four months, and it must be reviewed by House committees before it can move forward. A similar bill in the Senate has also stopped moving.

Companion bill: Sen. Young and Sen. Padilla Push Bipartisan Bill to Map DNA of All Wildlife in National Parks →

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Could go either way

It has bipartisan support and a clear scientific goal, but it requires significant new spending which often faces hurdles in a divided Congress.

Key Points

The bill creates a project to collect and map the DNA of animals, plants, and fungi found in National Parks. This living library will help scientists understand the genetics of American wildlife and find better ways to protect nature.
The project starts at five parks and expands to 20 more within two years. Experts will choose these parks based on their unique environments and how much they can teach us about different species.
All the genetic information will go into a public database for researchers to use. However, the government will keep specific locations secret to protect rare animals and plants from people who might want to harm or steal them.
The bill sets strict rules to keep the physical samples and data safe within the United States. It also prevents foreign groups from controlling the project or accessing sensitive information before it is ready for the public.
The program is expected to cost about $28 million in its first year and grow to over $90 million annually by 2030. It will be run by the U.S. Geological Survey in partnership with the Smithsonian and other agencies.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Mar 5, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, House Administration, and Energy and Commerce, 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.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

America’s Living Library Act

Bill NumberHR 7832

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, House Administration, and Energy and Commerce, 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.