Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Austin Scott (GA), and fellow CSC leaders Representatives Marc Veasey (TX), Debbie Dingell (MI), and Richard Hudson (NC), have introduced the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act (H.R. 877), for wildlife conservation funding.
"Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus leadership has made this important legislation a priority by introducing it in the first month of the 116th Congress. Providing more flexibility to state agencies to use Pittman-Robertson dollars for recruitment and retention of hunters and recreational shooters is an important step to ensure the future of state-based conservation funding," said Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) President Jeff Crane.
Through the American System of Conservation Funding, sportsmen and women contribute nearly $800 million annually from hunting and recreational shooting-related excise taxes to the Pittman-Robertson Fund. These funds are apportioned back to state fish and wildlife agencies for conservation programs.
If H.R. 877 is enacted, states will have the opportunity to use Pittman-Robertson funds for hunter and recreational shooter recruitment, retention and reactivation programs; promotion and marketing of hunter education programs; and education to the non-hunting public about the role of hunters and recreational shooters in wildlife conservation.
"Today, I reintroduced my legislation to give states more flexibility in how they use their Pittman-Robertson funds and hopefully attract more Americans to the outdoors in the process," said Rep. Austin Scott. "I am very pleased with the bipartisan and industry support for this legislation, and I look forward to advancing this legislation with my colleagues until our decades-old wildlife conservation funding receives the critical updates it deserves."
The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) mission is to work with Congress, governors and state legislatures to protect and advance hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping.