Congress looking to extend fishing and boating trust fund

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Impeachment, the Middle East, China and the 2020 election might be stealing all the headlines right now but anglers and boaters should be paying close attention to a federal bill proposing to extend funding for fishing conservation and boating infrastructure through 2024. The Sport Fish Restoration and Recreational Boating Safety Act of 2019 was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and immediately received an infusion of support by several fishing and outdoors groups. The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund is set to expire in 2021, unless the House bill is approved and signed into law. Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-South Carolina, was one of two representatives to introduce the Sport Fish Restoration and Recreational Boating Safety Act of 2019. He stated the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund funds fishing conservation and management, water and boating infrastructure, and federal and state programs for recreational boating safety. The second lead sponsor of the bill, which would extend the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund to 2024, is Rep. Garret Graves, R-Louisiana. The trust fund traces its roots to the Dingell-Johnson Act, which was enacted in 1950. Dingell-Johnson is responsible for creating a federal excise tax on recreational fishing equipment. “Reauthorizations...