[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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