[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 150 (Monday, September 18, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4366-H4367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZING FULLY ELECTRONIC STAMPS
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2872) to amend the Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of
2013 to allow States to issue electronic stamps under such Act, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2872
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SEC. 1. AUTHORIZING FULLY ELECTRONIC STAMPS.
(a) In General.--Section 5 of the Permanent Electronic Duck
Stamp Act of 2013 (16 U.S.C. 718r) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``Actual Stamp'' and
inserting ``Electronic Stamp'';
(B) by striking ``actual stamp'' and inserting ``electronic
stamp''; and
(C) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) upon the date of purchase; and'';
(2) in subsection (c), by inserting ``under subsection
(e)'' before the period at the end; and
(3) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f) and
inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection:
``(e) Delivery of Actual Stamps.--The Secretary shall issue
an actual stamp after March 10 of each year to each
individual that purchased an electronic stamp for the
preceding waterfowl seasons.''.
(b) Stamp Valid Through Close of Hunting Season.--Section 6
of the Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013 (16 U.S.C.
718s(c)) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ``shall, during the
effective period of the electronic stamp--'' and inserting
``shall--''; and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``for a period agreed to
by the State and the Secretary, which shall not exceed 45
days'' and inserting ``until the first June 30 that occurs
after the date of issuance of such stamp''.
(c) Electronic Stamps as Permit.--Section 1(a)(1) of the
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act (16 U.S.C.
718a(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``as an electronic stamp or'' after
``Conservation Stamp,''; and
(2) by inserting ``actual'' after ``face of the''.
(d) Contents of Electronic Stamp.--Section 2(3) of the
Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013 (16 U.S.C.
718o(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'';
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(F) may contain an image of the actual stamp.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Collins) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the matter under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2872, sponsored by the
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), my friend and colleague.
This bill makes commonsense improvements to the Federal Duck Stamp
program by modernizing how waterfowl hunters across the country can
purchase a Federal duck stamp.
The duck stamp was created when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act into law in 1934. That law
required waterfowl and other migratory bird hunters ages 16 and over to
purchase and possess a valid duck stamp prior to taking of migratory
waterfowl.
Current law requires hunters to physically possess a signed duck
stamp on their person while hunting any migratory waterfowl. Even in
States where electronic licensing is used, a signed physical duck stamp
is required.
H.R. 2872 further modernizes the program by removing the 45-day
requirement to have a physical duck stamp, and it allows States the
option to sell electronic duck stamps for the entirety of the hunting
season.
Under this bill, purchasers would still receive the physical stamp at
the end of their State waterfowl hunting season, therefore preserving
the long legacy of the Federal Duck Stamp as a physical representation
of the conservation efforts of hunters for generations to come.
This is a good governance approach that will reassure waterfowl
hunters and continue the unmatched American tradition of wildlife
conservation through sportsman participation. I applaud Mr. Graves for
his work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the duck stamp, or Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and
Conservation Stamp is the only Federal conservation revenue stamp. This
means 98 percent of the sale price is used to purchase conservation
easements and to acquire wetland habitats for the National Wildlife
Refuge System.
The duck stamp also provides an opportunity to showcase wildlife art,
with the Fish and Wildlife Service hosting an art competition each
year, and a winning piece selected for next year's design.
Sportsmen and women, artists, and conservationists purchase duck
stamps as a collectible to cover entry fees to any National Wildlife
Refuge System unit, as a hunting license, or as a donation to
conservation. Millions of stamps have been sold in recent years,
contributing tens of millions of dollars toward conservation each year.
This bipartisan bill will modernize government stamp services by
allowing online access to the Federal Duck Stamp. This improvement will
save applicants and agency officials time and money and make it more
accessible for hunters, conservationists, and collectors to purchase
duck stamps and support wetland conservation. It is a good bill, and I
am happy to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Louisiana (Mr. Graves), the lead sponsor of this bill.
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is related, as
you heard, to the duck stamp.
In 1932, President Roosevelt signed into law legislation that
authorized the duck stamp that allowed for hunters to get this stamp in
order to go hunt waterfowl.
This program has been incredibly successful over the 90-year period,
selling today approximately 1.6 million stamps every single year. This
has generated approximately $1.1 billion, and all of these proceeds
have been invested back into conservation, into the Migratory Bird
Conservation Fund. This has benefited over 600,000 acres of our
National Wildlife Refuge System and benefited conservation. I will say
it again, this program has been wildly successful.
{time} 1715
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, in 2013, legislation was signed
into law that created an electronic duck stamp. The thought there was
that with the internet and with the ability to improve access to
compliance, we would allow for a digital duck
[[Page H4367]]
stamp to provide 45 days of authorization to go hunt.
The problem was that the physical paper stamp often missed that 45-
day window. Someone would pay to get a duck stamp, and they had a 45-
day authorization window, but the physical stamp didn't come in until
after the end of that period. So, the hunter would be out of
compliance, yet they did everything right.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is very simple. It just allows for the digital
authorization, the electronic authorization, to be extended throughout
the season.
Importantly, Mr. Speaker, it still preserves the physical stamp that
so many people treasure and collect annually, so it does require the
stamp be physically mailed later on.
Mr. Speaker, I give a huge shout-out to the cosponsor of this
legislation, Congressman Mike Thompson, a fellow sportsman from
California. I thank Senator Boozman and Senator Manchin, who have
cosponsored the Senate companion bill, and I thank Bruce Westerman, the
chair of the committee, and Ranking Member Grijalva, for working with
us to clear this legislation. It is really important that this move
forward.
Mr. Speaker, before I close, I will share how this came about. I love
it whenever you are out there in the field, meeting with constituents
back home, and people bring up ideas. In this case, it was actually a
sportsman in our office, Taylor Playforth. We call him ``Bailer''
because he sunk his boat, but that is a whole other story. Taylor
Playforth, who is an avid sportsman, actually came up with this idea.
We were able to get this turned into legislative text, worked with
Senators to introduce it, and worked with the Congressional Sportsmen's
Caucus and others, which ultimately yielded this legislation. I am
hopeful that my friend from Arizona is going to ensure that we pass
this legislation unanimously today.
Mr. Speaker, I thank all the folks who worked on this. I thank
Vivian, Sandra, and the staff of the Committee on Natural Resources,
and I urge adoption of this legislation.
Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I urge
my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, the North American Model of Wildlife
Conservation, which is based on a user-pays system through the purchase
of items like the Federal duck stamp, is the envy of the world. In
total, fees paid by the sportsmen community contribute over $1 billion
per year in revenue that goes toward wildlife conservation, which is a
truly remarkable achievement.
H.R. 2872 is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that underpins the North
American model by giving hunters certainty while modernizing the
Federal duck stamp process.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2872, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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