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SALT LAKE CITY —Utah Rep. Blake Moore wants to revise the Stamp Act of the Pittman Robertson Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund to support wildlife conservation, law enforcement, hunter recruitment, and other related lawful activities. An estimated 15% of the funding already generated would support the development, maintenance and operation of recreational shooting ranges.
In testimony Tuesday before the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries within the U.S. Natural Committee on Natural Resources, Taylor Schmitz, director of federal relations for the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation, said the money for shooting ranges is a matter of fairness.
"Because of how fast the popularity of recreation shooting is growing across the country, it is important to provide additional access opportunities for sportsmen," he said. "I mentioned that recreational shooting can be enjoyed by folks regardless of income, but if you don't have private property or somewhere to shoot, you can be limited. So we find it critical to build public shooting ranges for individuals to go out and safely practice recreational target shooting across the country."
The Tax Stamp Revenue Transfer for Wildlife and Recreation Act would reallocate the funding generated from tax stamp processing for the purpose of enhancing wildlife and habitat conservation and recreation programs. This change will supercharge funding for these critical funding streams while expediting processes at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, according to Moore.
Under the National Firearms Act of 1934, all applicants seeking to transfer a suppressor are required to undergo a background check and pay a $200 tax stamp. That money is now deposited into the U.S. Treasury without any specific direction, even though total revenues generated from this tax are expected to approach $200 million this year.
'A win-win'
Moore's proposal would strategically allocate the taxes to both support wildlife conservation and recreation and expedite bureau processing. An estimated 85% would be allocated to the Pittman Robertson Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund to support wildlife conservation, law enforcement, hunter recruitment, and other related lawful activities.
"My bill builds upon the model and reallocates revenue collected from firearm suppressor sales into that trust fund, significantly increasing the money available to states and supercharging wildlife and habitat conservation and recreation programs," Moore said in a statement.
"To be clear, my bill would not create a new tax when purchasing a suppressor. It would instead reallocate funds from the existing $200 tax stamp that applicants are required to pay when purchasing a suppressor to conservation efforts. ... Pittman Robertson has seen a significant impact in the efforts that it's trying to accomplish — in conservation efforts. This is entirely about putting more of the resources towards things that have had a good track record and something that we should be continuing to promote. This is a win-win for outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists alike."
Aim of the bill under debate
The bill has the support of many states, like the Utah Department of Natural Resources and sportsmen groups that include the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
"TRCP appreciates Rep. Moore, R-Utah, and Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, for their leadership to increase funding for conservation through the Tax Stamp Revenue Transfer for Wildlife and Recreation Act. This bill will help fund projects that support abundant wildlife populations and public access for hunting and fishing," said Whit Fosburgh, president and chief executive officer of the organization.
Lawrence G. Keane, the National Shooting Sports Foundation's senior vice president and general counsel, said suppressors are playing a vital role in hunting.
"Increasingly greater numbers of hunters use suppressors to harvest wild game, as it is legal to do so in 41 states. Suppressors are a safety tool that protects hearing and reduces noise pollution. This legislation is in keeping with the modern application of suppressors to ensure the taxes paid for suppressors are applied to wildlife conservation, recreational shooting range construction and improvements and reducing the lengthy processing backlogs for suppressor approval by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives," he said.
But Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., was critical of the measure.
"As written, this bill does very little for wildlife conservation, which is the main point of the Pittman Robertson Act, but it does quite a lot for the gun lobby in an obvious effort to promote sales of guns and silencers. It has a terrible provision that would amend the National Firearms Act to automatically approve any application for the sale or manufacture of silencers after 90 days," he said. "We shouldn't be passing bills to make it easier for criminals to acquire these devices and put more money in the pockets of the gun industry. "
The entire fund raised $1.2 billion in the last fiscal year.
