Duck Stamp Modernization Act of 2023

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 788) to amend the Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013 to allow States to issue fully electronic stamps under that Act, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 788, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 788, sponsored by my friend and fellow Razorback, Senator John Boozman from Arkansas. This bill makes commonsense improvements to wildlife regulations by modernizing how waterfowl hunters across the country can purchase a Federal duck stamp.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), who had a companion bill in the House that went through our committee.

The Federal duck stamp was first created when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act into law in 1934. The law required waterfowl and other migratory bird hunters, ages 16 and over, to purchase and possess a valid duck stamp prior to taking migratory waterfowl.

Current law requires hunters to physically possess a signed duck stamp while hunting for any migratory waterfowl. Even in States where electronic licensing is used, a signed physical duck stamp is required.

Mr. Speaker, on my mobile phone, I have the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission hunting app. Right here, front and center, I have my Federal duck stamp electronically. Technically, I would be breaking the law if a game warden approached me when I was hunting and this is all that I had. I still have to carry my little duck stamps in my pocket that are signed, both the State and Federal duck stamps.

This bill would modernize that program so that these electronic duck stamps would suffice if you were approached by a game warden.

S. 788 modernizes the program by removing the 45-day requirement to have a physical duck stamp and allowing States the option to sell electronic duck stamps for the entirety of the hunting season.

Under this bill, purchasers would still receive the physical stamp at the end of their State waterfowl season, therefore preserving the long legacy of the Federal duck stamp for generations to come.

This is a good governance approach that will continue the unmatched American tradition of wildlife conservation through sportsmen participation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Garret Graves of Louisiana for his tireless work on this issue. He sponsored the House companion to S. 788. After today, this legislation is one step closer to becoming law.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Louisiana (Mr. Graves), where I understand that if you can't get to a hunt in Arkansas, it is not a bad place to go as a consolation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to make clear that the gentleman from Louisiana, even though he looks like a duck commander, he is not a duck commander, but he does enjoy the outdoors.

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which is based on a user pays system through the purchase of items like the Federal duck stamp, is the envy of the world. In total, fees paid by the sportsmen communities contribute over $1 billion in revenue annually that goes toward wildlife conservation, which is truly a remarkable achievement.

S. 788 is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that underpins the Northern American model by giving hunters certainty and modernizing the Federal duck stamp process.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I submit to the Senate a budget scorekeeping report. The report, which covers fiscal year 2024, was prepared and submitted as a letter by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. This information assists the Senate Budget Committee in determining if budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation.

CBO's report shows the effect on spending and revenues of congressional action through April 15, 2024. Between CBO's last report on December 13, 2023, and April 15, 2024, Congress passed eight pieces of legislation with effects on direct spending or revenue. These include two appropriations bills passed in March, P.L. 118-42 and P.L. 118-47, that completed the fiscal year 2024 appropriations cycle in line with the bipartisan agreement enacted last summer.

CBO's report included three tables, tables 1, 2, and 3. Tables 1 and 2 show that current budgetary levels are within allowable amounts for budget authority and outlays. The allowable levels include an adjustment for the Senate-passed national security supplemental, P.L. 118-50, which had not yet

been enacted into law when the table was prepared. These tables also show that revenue is below the allowable amount, due to the rescissions of IRS mandatory funding in the last appropriation bill, P.L. 118-47, which reduces revenue and increases the deficit.

Table 3 shows the Senate's Pay-As-You-Go scorecard, which reflects $36.4 billion of net deficit increase, entirely due to IRS funding rescissions.

The Democratic staff of the Budget Committee prepared three addendum tables to supplement CBO's report, tables A, B, and C.

Table A compares the mandatory spending of each authorizing committee against the enforceable allocations under section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act. It shows that 11 of the 16 authorizing committees are compliant with their allocations, either because no legislation with significant budgetary costs was enacted, the legislation was deficit-neutral and qualified for an allocation adjustment that was subsequently filed, or the legislation reduced spending.

Table B updates CBO's table 1, the Senate current level report for spending and revenues, to reflect the enactment of P.L. 118-50, the national security supplemental, which was passed by the House and Senate and was signed into law by the President after CBO prepared its report.

Table C updates CBO's table 3, updating the Senate Pay-As-You-Go scorecard to reflect six bills that have passed by the House and Senate since the release of CBO's report, five of which have been signed into law by the President.

I ask unanimous consent that CBO's letter, accompanying tables, and the addendum be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas and the gentlewoman from Oregon for their cooperation on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I note that my friend from Arkansas, whether he has the electronic stamp or the physical stamp, I feel that the ducks in Arkansas are safe. I have seen him shoot and am confident that those ducks are safe.

Seriously, Mr. Speaker, oftentimes, when Congress acts, I think the American people need to be very concerned.

In this case, I think it is a really good thing that is happening today.

As my friends have discussed, back in 1934, President Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act into law. Today, over 1.6 million hunters go out and buy a physical duck stamp every single year.

This has resulted in over $1.1 billion being invested in conservation. This has benefited over 6 million acres of our national wildlife refuges around the United States. This is a great program.

As my friend from Arkansas indicated, there is a compliance issue. With the great work that was done in 2013 to allow for an electronic duck stamp, there is a lag time between when the duck stamp is purchased and when the physical stamp comes in. You could find hunters out of compliance, despite the fact that they bought a stamp. Simply, this legislation fixes that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Senate cosponsors of this legislation who have jumped in, Senators Boozman, Manchin, Marshall, and King, for introducing the House companion--I want to be clear, the House companion. This was a House bill and has already passed out of the House, but now, the Senate is refusing to take our bill up, so we find ourselves here.

In any case, I think this is good news. We are going to take the win. I appreciate the opportunity to move forward.

The bottom line is that this ensures that hunters can be compliant and are not going to get fined for not having the physical stamp. Importantly, it preserves the physical stamp that will continue to be mailed. It still is available to be purchased at local sporting goods stores and post offices all around the United States.

We can continue to ensure compliance and ensure the enjoyment of waterfowl all over the United States, whether you are in North Dakota or south Louisiana or even in the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee's State, Arkansas.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Mike Thompson from California, who is the bipartisan cosponsor on this legislation. I urge adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the duck stamp, or Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, is the only Federal conservation revenue stamp. This means that 98 percent of the sale price is used to purchase conservation easements and to acquire wetland habitats for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The duck stamp also provides an opportunity to showcase wildlife art, with the Fish and Wildlife Service hosting an art competition each year and the winning piece selected for next year's design.

Sportsmen and women, artists, and conservationists purchase duck stamps as a collectible to cover entry fees to any National Wildlife Refuge System unit, as a hunting license, or as a donation to conservation.

Millions of stamps have been sold in recent years, contributing tens of millions of dollars toward conservation each year. This bipartisan bill would modernize government services by allowing online access to the Federal duck stamp. It would save applicants and agency officials time and money and make it more accessible for hunters, conservationists, and collectors to purchase duck stamps and to support wetland conservation.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues from Arkansas and Louisiana, who represent great States to go hunting in if you can't make it all the way out to Oregon. I welcome you all there.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, and it should pass. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I hope this can be unanimous, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be discharged from further consideration of S. 788 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the Boozman substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.