NRA Voices Support for H.R. 3671
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- James Jay Baker, chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, today expressed the organization's strong support for H.R. 3671. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000 has been introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Chairman of the House Resources Committee, to protect the interests of sportsmen and address on-going abuse and mismanagement of money used to administer the Pittman-Robertson Trust Fund.
In 1999, at Rep. Young's request, the General Accounting Office audited the Pittman-Robertson administrative fund and uncovered waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement involving tens of millions of sportsmen's tax dollars. Instances include expensive foreign travel junkets and large bonuses for U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) employees. One career USFWS employee testified before the House Resources Committee that he was pressured to approve hand-outs of Pittman-Robertson money to so-called "animal rights" groups who are actively working to destroy hunting. Even worse, another USFWS employee testified that she was directed by high-level Clinton-Gore bureaucrats to destroy computer records that could have shed light on these abuses and on those responsible.
"The administrative abuses uncovered by Representative Young constitute a fundamental breach of trust between America's sportsmen and their government, if not outright illegality," said Baker. "I want to thank him for introducing this important legislation and for his diligence on this issue. Opening day of hunting seasons in America this past year saw nearly twelve million men, women, and children take to the nation's farms, fields, hills, and mountains in active participation in a heritage that is alive and well. The Pittman-Robertson Trust Fund deserves much of the credit for hunting's continued popularity because it has brought back to abundance numerous game animals. The NRA is gratified to see lawmakers working to insure that the Trust Fund is well managed and continues to benefit wildlife conservation. I am looking forward to working with Congress to get H.R. 3671 passed into law."
Since 1939, the Pittman-Robertson Trust Fund has imposed excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and, later on, archery equipment. The revenue collected is made available to state wildlife agencies for wildlife restoration projects, hunter safety training, and range construction -- all projects which benefit sportsmen who bear the brunt of the tax. Over 3.5 billion dollars have been collected and dispersed by Pittman-Robertson to state agencies for wildlife restoration projects.
The federal law authorizing Pittman-Robertson allows for money to be set aside to pay overhead costs incurred by the USFWS in administering the fund. However, until last year, the USFWS had never undergone a full-scale audit of its use of the administrative fund. NRA, one of the top national organizations representing sportsmen, has called for several years for a review of how the administrative funds were being used.
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