[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14708-14709]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  WILDLIFE AND SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAMS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2000

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, today I rise on behalf of the men and women 
of this country who value hunting and fishing as an important part of 
their lives. I am one of them, and I know I am not alone in the Senate. 
Many of my colleagues have joined me as members of the Sportsmen's 
Caucus, and I am pleased that we enjoy such strong support. In my home 
state of Montana, hunting and fishing are incredibly important. These 
are some of the activities we engage in to enjoy our beautiful 
outdoors. Hunting and fishing give us the chance to spend time with our 
families, and to take part in the traditions that generations of 
Montanans have enjoyed.
  It is this strong tradition that brings me here today. There has been 
a grave injustice dealt to America's sportsmen.

[[Page 14709]]

I am referring to the abuse of Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson 
funds by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These are funds from the 
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs which impose an excise tax 
on the equipment hunters and fishermen buy. Then the tax monies from 
the sporting goods are used for things like wildlife habitat and hunter 
safety programs. These programs were started in 1937, with the strong 
support of both the sportsmen who pay the tax and the states who 
administer the projects.
  As years went by, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which manages 
the programs, started straying further and further from the original 
intent of Pittman-Robertson funds. After an oversight investigation by 
House Committee on Resources, chaired by Mr. Young of Alaska, it was 
found that the Fish and Wildlife Service was using Pittman-Robertson 
for purposes far outside the intent of the law. Funds were used for 
everything from foreign travel to grants for anti-hunting groups and 
programs that work against the interests of hunters. This is just plain 
wrong, and goes against everything the program was originally intended 
to accomplish.
  In response to the abuse uncovered by his Committee, Mr. Young 
introduced legislation to fix the problems. Part of the legislation 
caps the administrative expenses for the program and sets in stone what 
is an authorized administrative expense. This is a step in the right 
direction, because it will restore the integrity to this program. His 
bill, H.R. 3671, passed the House on April 5th with an overwhelming 
vote of 423-2.
  I am proud to be included as a co-sponsor of the Senate version of 
this bill, S. 2609. My colleagues from Idaho, Mr. Craig and Mr. Crapo, 
have modeled it after H.R. 3671 and included provisions for valuable 
programs like hunter safety, as well as a multi-state conservation 
grant program. This bill ensures that the money sportsmen pay for 
wildlife conservation and hunter safety is actually used for those 
purposes and restores the accountability that has been missing for too 
long. It is time we made this right, and earned back the trust of the 
people we are here to serve.

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