Sportsmen's Act on Docket for Senate Vote

Sportsmen’s Act on docket for Senate Vote

The Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (S.3525) is a compilation of Bills that will expand, enhance and protect America’s hunting, recreational fishing and shooting heritage. Several of the bills included in S.3525 have already passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support during the 112th Congress, including the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, the Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act and the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Protection Act. In addition, S. 3525 would authorize several vital conservation programs to enhance waterfowl and other fish and wildlife populations and conserve wetlands, aquatic systems, and other habitats.

Never before has such a large and diverse coalition of hunting, shooting, angling and other conservation organizations united behind a common goal of enacting such an important package of authorizing legislation.

S. 3525 actually contains 19 separate Bills. A similar package of Bills – the Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 (H.R. 4089) – was passed by the House in the spring by a bipartisan vote of 276 to 146. Passage of this pro-sportsmen's legislation will promote, protect and preserve our nation's hunting, shooting and conservation heritage for generations to come.

Sportsmen's Priorities in the Sportsmen's Act of 2012

The Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Protection Act:
Specifically excludes ammunition and fishing tackle from the Toxic Substances Control Act, preventing unnecessary regulations that could devastate hunting, shooting, conservation funding and the firearm and ammunition industries.

Making Public Lands Public: 
Requires that the 1.5 percent of annual Land and Water Conservation Fund funding is made available to secure public access to federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.

Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act: 
Makes Pittman-Robertson funds available to states for a longer period of time for the creation and maintenance of shooting ranges. The bill encourages federal land agencies to cooperate with state and local authorities to maintain shooting ranges and limits liability for these agencies.

Expeditious, bipartisan Senate action this November is the crucial next step toward this historic achievement.