January 31, 2019 (Washington, DC) - Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (CSC) Co-Chair Congressman Austin Scott (GA), along with fellow CSC leaders Representatives Marc Veasey (TX), Debbie Dingell (MI), and Richard Hudson (NC), introduced the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act (H.R. 877), an important bill for the future of 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 (P-R) 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 P-R 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 P-R 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."
CSF will continue to work with Rep. Scott and CSC leadership on advancing this legislation in the 116th Congress.
