Tag Archives: congress

Yesterday, Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA-06) and Joe Cunningham (D-SC-01) – members of the Congressional Boating Caucus – introduced legislation to reauthorize and restore the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (Trust Fund) – a $650 million program established at the behest of recreational boaters and anglers in 1950 to pay for conservation and infrastructure projects in all 50 states. Protecting and expanding the ...

Scott Lewit, President of Structural Composites, Inc. and an active member of the NMMA, has been appointed to Congressman Bill Posey’s Business Advisory board.  Congressman Posey represents Florida’s 8th Congressional District, which encompasses all of Brevard and Indian River Counties, and a small portion of Orange County (Bithlo, Christmas and Wedgefield). “It is quite an honor to be selected for Congressman Posey’s Business Advisory Board," Lewit ...

Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) recently visited Bridge Marina in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey to discuss the controversial closure of the lake because of harmful algae blooms. Ray Fernandez, president of Bridge Marina, says the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is overstating the algae issue, leading to an unnecessary level of concern. “NJDEP standards are twice that of national ...

My top takeaway from three days in our nation’s capital for the 2019 edition of the American Boating Congress? That every American, regardless of what it is they do for a living, should spend a day on Capitol Hill, meeting with lawmakers from their district, having their voices and opinions heard, and getting a glimpse into how Washington works. I ...

On Wednesday, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment convened a hearing – titled, “The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and Investment in our Nation’s Waterways Matter” – to examine the key role that ports, harbors, and inland waterways play in communities and their economies and the importance of full ...

With federal appropriations season fully underway, nearly a dozen boating and fishing organizations recently wrote to Senate appropriators and encouraged lawmakers to continue the long-time support for the protection and restoration of America’s Everglades by providing robust funding for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Everglades restoration is a top NMMA advocacy priority and the association played a leading role in drafting ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is distributing more than $1 billion this year to support increased outdoor access and wildlife habitat conservation across all 50 states and U.S. territories. The funds are generated through excise taxes on hunting, shooting, fishing equipment, and boat fuel. Authorized by Congress through the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and Dingell-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Federal ...

NMMA has submitted its appropriations request for fiscal year 2020 (FY20) to Congress, as both chambers begin to finalize their respective funding packages. While the appropriations process sets the spending levels at every agency in the federal government, it is often an opportunity to improve and enhance initiatives or programs that are important to marine manufacturers and the entire recreational ...

NMMA recently announced that Jill Sims, former staffer in Congressman Dave Reichert’s (R-WA-08) office, joined the organization as its newest policy and engagement manager, supporting the association’s advocacy and grassroots activities in Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. The hire comes as NMMA expands its advocacy footprint at the federal and state levels.   NMMA senior vice president ...

The recreational fishing and boating community is celebrating the enactment of the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018 (Modern Fish Act), which was signed into law by President Trump Dec. 31. The Modern Fish Act finally recognizes in federal law the differences between recreational and commercial fishing and adds more appropriate management tools for policymakers to use in managing federal ...