[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1641 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1641

To amend Public Law 87-383 to reauthorize appropriations to promote the 
   conservation of migratory waterfowl and to offset or prevent the 
serious loss of important wetland and other waterfowl habitat essential 
  to the preservation of migratory waterfowl, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2007

Mr. Coleman (for himself and Mr. Baucus) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend Public Law 87-383 to reauthorize appropriations to promote the 
   conservation of migratory waterfowl and to offset or prevent the 
serious loss of important wetland and other waterfowl habitat essential 
  to the preservation of migratory waterfowl, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wetlands Loan Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY WATERFOWL 
              AND HABITAT.

    The first section of Public Law 87-383 (16 U.S.C. 715k-3) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``That in'' and inserting the following:

``SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY 
              WATERFOWL HABITAT.

    ``(a) In General.--In'';
            (2) by striking ``for the period'' and all that follows 
        through the end of the sentence and inserting ``$40,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2009 through 2018.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Advance to Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.--Funds 
appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be treated as an advance, 
without interest, to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.
    ``(c) Repayment to Treasury.--
            ``(1) In general.--Effective beginning July 1, 2010, funds 
        appropriated pursuant to this Act shall be repaid to the 
        Treasury out of the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.
            ``(2) Amounts.--Repayment under this subsection shall be 
        made in annual amounts that are equal to the funds accruing 
        annually to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund that are 
        attributable to the portion of the price of migratory bird 
        hunting stamps sold that year that is in excess of $15 per 
        stamp.
            ``(3) Use of amounts.--In any year for which funds are not 
        appropriated pursuant to this Act, and no amount remains to be 
        repaid to the Treasury out of the Migratory Bird Conservation 
        Fund under paragraph (1), the total amount attributable to the 
        portion of the price of migratory bird hunting stamps sold for 
        that year that is in excess of $15 per stamp shall be deposited 
        in the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.''.

SEC. 3. PRICE OF STAMPS.

    Section 2 of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act 
(16 U.S.C. 718b) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting 
the following:
    ``(b) Price of Stamps.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each stamp sold by an authorized 
        entity under subsection (a)(1), the authorized entity shall 
        collect--
                    ``(A) $22 during each of hunting years 2009 through 
                2015;
                    ``(B) $29 during each of hunting years 2016 through 
                2022; and
                    ``(C) $35 during hunting year 2023 and each hunting 
                year thereafter.
            ``(2) Reports.--
                    ``(A) Initial report.--Not later than 1 year after 
                the date of enactment of the Wetlands Loan Act of 2007, 
                the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
                Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                Service, shall submit to Congress a report that 
                includes a comparison by the Secretary of the Interior 
                of--
                            ``(i) the price of each stamp sold under 
                        subsection (a)(1) during the hunting year 
                        following the hunting year in which the 
                        Wetlands Loan Act of 2007 was enacted; and
                            ``(ii) for each hunting year during the 
                        period beginning with hunting year 1991 and 
                        ending with the hunting year in which the 
                        Wetlands Loan Act of 2007 was enacted, the 
                        purchasing power of the amount of revenue 
                        generated by the total quantity of stamps sold 
                        during the hunting year under subsection 
                        (a)(1).
                    ``(B) Final report.--Not later than 1 year after 
                the date on which the funds advanced under section 1 of 
                Public Law 87-383 (16 U.S.C. 715k-3) are repaid, the 
                Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director 
                of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, shall 
                submit to Congress a report that includes a comparison 
                by the Secretary of the Interior of--
                            ``(i) the price of each stamp sold under 
                        subsection (a)(1) during the hunting year in 
                        which the funds advanced under section 1 of 
                        Public Law 87-383 (16 U.S.C. 715k-3) are 
                        repaid; and
                            ``(ii) for each hunting year during the 
                        period beginning with hunting year 1991 and 
                        ending with the hunting year in which the funds 
                        advanced under section 1 of Public Law 87-383 
                        (16 U.S.C. 715k-3) are repaid, the purchasing 
                        power of the amount of revenue generated by the 
                        total quantity of stamps sold during the 
                        hunting year under subsection (a)(1).''.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the funds generated pursuant to the amendments made by 
        this Act--
                    (A) should be used for preserving and increasing 
                waterfowl populations in accordance with the goals and 
                objectives of the North American Waterfowl Management 
                Plan; and
                    (B) to that end, should be used to supplement and 
                not replace current conservation funding, including 
                funding for other Federal and State habitat 
                conservation programs;
            (2) where practicable, fee title acquisitions under this 
        Act should be managed for public access in accordance with the 
        requirements of any waterfowl production area designated as a 
        component of the National Wildlife Refuge System under section 
        4 of the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 
        1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)(1)); and
            (3) this Act and the amendments made by this Act should be 
        implemented in a manner that helps private landowners achieve 
        long-term land use objectives in a manner that enhances the 
        conservation of wetland and wildlife habitat.
                                 <all>