Two Outdoor Recreation-Focused Bills Passed through House Natural Resources Committee
Two key outdoor recreation bills recently passed through the House Natural Resources Committee: the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act (H.R. 615), whose lead sponsor is Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA-01) (with 49 co-sponsors) and the Duck Stamp Modernization Act (H.R. 2872), whose lead sponsor is Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Co-Chair Rep. Garrett Graves (R-LA-06).
Under the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture would be prohibited from banning the use of tackle or lead ammunition on certain Federal lands or waters. This would be done unless state agency triggers, as well as a science-based standards, are met and would ensure any restrictions put into place would be supported by data. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service are the primary lands of focus.
The bipartisan Duck Stamp Modernization Act is designed to modernize the federal duck stamp process. This bill would allow hunters access to a federal duck stamp electronically on their phones for the entire hunting season. This would update the current law, which only allows an electronic stamp to be valid for 45 days, up until the actual stamp arrives in the mail. Despite this update, an actual stamp will still arrive in the mail from March 10th to June 30th. This will be done to ensure the integrity of the stamp.
Both bills have been led by the American Sportfishing Association and Congressional Sportsman Foundation (CSF).
“These bills are common-sense, community priorities impacting millions of sportsmen and women across the nation, and we thank the House Natural Resources Committee for prioritizing sportsmen and women by voting these two important CSF priorities out of Committee,” said Jeff Crane, CSF President and CEO. “The passing of priorities such as these are a testament to the continued leadership and dedication of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus to our nation’s sporting community.”
Both bills await a vote on the House floor.