Mr. President, I rise today to re-introduce the bipartisan Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act with my friend Senator Risch of the great state of Idaho. We are proud to be joined by…
Mr. President, I rise today to re-introduce the bipartisan Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act with my friend Senator Risch of the great state of Idaho. We are proud to be joined by a long list of original co-sponsors including Senators Bennet, Hagan, Klobuchar, Tester, Barrasso, Crapo, Thune, Begich, Pryor, Enzi, and Heller. I thank my colleagues for joining me in this bipartisan effort.
This bill would amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to adjust certain funding limitations and provide states with greater flexibility over the use of funds available for the creation and maintenance of public shooting ranges--designated public lands where people can both safely engage in sport shooting and responsibly sharpen their marksmanship skills.
The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act established an excise tax on sporting equipment and ammunition, which provides each state with funds for a variety of wildlife restoration and hunter education and safety programs. Pittman-Robertson funds can also be used for the development and maintenance of shooting ranges. Unfortunately, however, current restrictions in the Pittman-Robertson Act disproportionately underfund the creation and maintenance of shooting range opportunities in comparison with other programs funded by the Act. In addition, opportunities for American sportsmen and women to safely engage in recreational shooting on public lands have significantly declined in recent years.
In an effort to reverse this trend and establish, maintain and promote safe spaces for target practice and sport shooting, this legislation would allow states to allocate a greater proportion of their federal wildlife funds for these purposes.
To be clear, the bill would not allocate any new funding, it would not raise any fees or taxes, nor would it require states to apply their allocated Pittman-Robertson funds to shooting ranges. Rather, this bill gives states the flexibility to allocate their existing Pittman- Robertson funds in the manner they deem most beneficial by reducing the amount of other matching dollars States would have to raise and permits states to ``bank'' Pittman-Robertson funds for 5 years so that they can save enough money to build new shooting ranges.
Hunting and recreational shooting are an integral part of the Colorado way of life. The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act is designed to promote our western way of life, acknowledging not only the need for safe places for hunters and sportsmen to responsibly practice their sport, but also the jobs and economic growth supported by sport shooters in Colorado and throughout the nation. Hunting and outdoor sports generate billions of dollars each year and support countless American jobs. In addition to the improvements this bill contains, it is my hope that the public land management agencies will continue to work with the states, sportsmen and women, recreational shooting interests, local communities, and others so that these opportunities are safe and available.
