Sport Fish Restoration Act

[pdxkevin]

Congressional Sporstmen's Foundation
Tracking the Capitol

Volume 3, Number 3
February 13, 2004

On the Hill
Transportation Bill Moves Forward in Senate and House

By a vote of 76 – 21, the U.S. Senate passed legislation last night to reauthorize the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. The bill, S. 1072, provides $318 billion in funding for highway and transit projects over the next six years – including hundreds of millions of dollars annually to fund federal public lands roads and recreational trails. Based on the requests by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) and its allies in the sportsmen's community, the bill includes $30 million per year for roads on National Wildlife Refuges, $60 million per year for recreational trails and $50 million per year for recreational roads. In addition, at the request of Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Vice Chair Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), the bill includes $15 million annually for culverts and bridges in order to improve fish passage.

The Federal Aid is Sport Fish Restoration Act, the primary funding source for state-based fishing and boating programs, would also be reauthorized in the transportation bill. The Act allocates the excise taxes on sportfishing equipment and motorboat fuels for state based boating safety, fisheries conservation and boating access programs, protecting coastal wetlands and improving marine sanitation device facilities. At the request of Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus members, Senators John Breaux (D-LA) and Trent Lott (R-MS), this year's bill captures the full 18.3 cents per gallon motor boat fuel tax – a change that is expected to add approximately $110 million a year to these sportfishing and boating programs.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to address their version of the transportation bill on February 25. Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Co-Chair Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC) and the CSF are working closely with committee chairman and CSC member Representative Don Young (R-AK) to ensure that the sportsmen's community's priorities are included in the package that moves to the House floor.

[Thumper]

Hopefully the House will kill or modify this bill. The funding approved by the Senate is $100 billion (that is with a "B") more than the administration's request. Note that the Senate majority on this vote was veto-proof.

The House is now under intense pressure from the Bush folks to scale back the spending on this bill.

You can't have it both ways. You can't attack Bush for being a big spender while overspending the administration's requests on transportation by $100 billion.

It's an interesting world.

[ 02-13-2004, 04:33 PM: Message edited by: Thumper ]