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June 29, 2012 – This week has been an exciting week for sportsmen as two important bills advanced in Congress that include language important to our sporting heritage. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has been working with both the leaders and members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus to promote much of this legislation throughout the 112th Congress.
Conferees reached a bicameral, bipartisan compromise yesterday on the Highway Transportation Bill reauthorization. The agreed upon language that came out of the conference committee includes the reauthorization of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund – a critical funding pool for state and national recreational fishing and boating programs, including recreational boating safety, fisheries management, habitat conservation, and water and boating access infrastructure programs, among others – through FY 2014. In addition, the bill included the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourism Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act). This provision establishes the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund and directs 80% of all civil penalties paid by the responsible parties from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill into the Trust Fund. Today, the House and Senate both passed this legislation, sending it to the President’s desk before the current authorization expires on Saturday, June 30, at midnight.
Also this week, the House Appropriations Committee marked-up the Department of the Interior Appropriations Bill. This legislation includes funding for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, and various other agencies. On June 27, the Committee released a Draft Committee Report on this bill. The bill includes $28 billion in funding, which is $1.2 billion below last year’s level and $1.7 billion below the President’s budget request.
While this bill covers a multitude of important appropriations, language specifically important to sportsmen contained in the bill includes the following provisions and amendment:
Related, Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson withdrew his amendment to the bill prior to the mark-up, which would have prevented the closing of an additional 6,800 acres of land to domestic sheep grazing in order to protect bighorn sheep. Chairman Simpson decided for a withdrawal of the amendment so that all interested parties can come to the table to discuss potential solutions. Click here to learn more about this important issue.
The Department of the Interior Appropriations Bill will now move to the House floor. Contact your Representative today and urge them to support the language important to sportsmen in the passage of the Department of the Interior Appropriations Bill.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
