ALERT - ACTION REQUIRED: Sportsmen’s Act Will Soon Face A Vote

[pianoman9701]

Call 'em, boys and girls. Ask them for their stance on the bill and request you be emailed with their decision. Don't expect much out of Cant-do-well and the Grandmother in Crocks.

[huntrights]

http://www.nssf.org/bulletpoints/current.cfm

November 27, 2012
"NSSF Pledges to Continue Work on Sportsmen's Act

The National Shooting Sports Foundation today expressed disappointment with the results of last evening's procedural vote in the U.S. Senate that has delayed action on the Sportsmen's Act of 2012 (S.3525), but pledged to continue working in a bipartisan fashion, along with a coalition of more than 45 other leading sportsmen's and conservation groups, to advance the historic package of bills before the adjournment of the 112th Congress.

"It is clear there is broad bipartisan support for the policies contained in the Sportsmen's Act, which contains our industry's top legislative priorities" said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. "While we are disappointed by Monday's procedural vote, we will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to address budgetary concerns raised by senators in time to ensure a vote on the Sportsmen's Act before the end of the lame-duck session.""

[csaaphill]

did this fail as posted on a diff thread?
ya murray and cantwell are a waste of time. Only Cantwell actually wrote me back after my contact. From some of her words it sounds like she may have voted no or abstained.

[blackdog]

http://www.agri-pulse.com/Sportsmens-act-fails-senate-11272012.asp

[Bob33]

The procedural vote went down party lines almost one for one. The procedure vote was not on the bill itself, but rather whether budgetary disciplines should be ignored. The bill as written ignores the Budget Control act.

It's not over.

[pianoman9701]

The procedural vote went down party lines almost one for one. The procedure vote was not on the bill itself, but rather whether budgetary disciplines should be ignored. The bill as written ignores the Budget Control act.

It's not over.

I don't believe this is true. Both Dem and Reps voted on both sides of this bill. It fell because it didn't include its own funding, like an added .5% to PR excise, for example. I believe you're correct about it not being over, Bob. I think once sportsmen recognize that they have the support if they provide the funding, the bill will pass and be signed into law.

The failure of the sponsors and writers of this bill to address the funding issue is glaring, indeed. Especially considering that a majority of the backers, although not an astounding majority, are conservatives. We can not be conservative only on those issues that we choose. We must be conservative across the board and reduce the size of government or else find a way to pay. I think this is a victory for the ethics of conservatism and maybe a temporary, minor setback for sportsmen as a whole.

[Bob33]

The procedural vote went down party lines almost one for one. The procedure vote was not on the bill itself, but rather whether budgetary disciplines should be ignored. The bill as written ignores the Budget Control act.

It's not over.

I don't believe this is true. Both Dem and Reps voted on both sides of this bill. It fell because it didn't include its own funding, like an added .5% to PR excise, for example. I believe you're correct about it not being over, Bob. I think once sportsmen recognize that they have the support if they provide the funding, the bill will pass and be signed into law.

The failure of the sponsors and writers of this bill to address the funding issue is glaring, indeed. Especially considering that a majority of the backers, although not an astounding majority, are conservatives. We can not be conservative only on those issues that we choose. We must be conservative across the board and reduce the size of government or else find a way to pay. I think this is a victory for the ethics of conservatism and maybe a temporary, minor setback for sportsmen as a whole.

The motion vote was 47 Democrats and 1 Republican YEA, and 43 Republicans 1 Democrat NAY (6 Not Present.)

If you don't consider that a party line vote, I'm not sure what qualifies.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/112-2012/s204

[pianoman9701]

Thank you for that information, Bob. In that case, I have to agree with the one R and the 47 Ds. I probably have a different reason than the Ds for turning against it. I think the R Senator from AL has some mighty high ethics to vote against his party for the right reasons. My 

[Bob33]

It was a procedural vote, not a vote on the bill itself. I hope and expect the bill will ultimately be enacted.

[pianoman9701]

It was a procedural vote, not a vote on the bill itself. I hope and expect the bill will ultimately be enacted.

I agree. With it properly funded, it should pass.

[Bob33]

I think the Democrats played a smart move on this. They introduced an amendment to eliminate budgetary constraints on the bill. That forced the Republicans to either oppose the amendment and look like they oppose the bill in its entirety (and we can see how that's being received on this forum), or they could accept the amendment and look hypocritical for talking fiscal responsibility on one hand and then approving this lifting of budgetary constraint.

[SCRUBS]

This is the reply I received from Jaime Herrara ( I didn`t request a reply). I received no replies from Cantwell or Murray (again I didn`t request one either).
 

Thank you for writing me regarding S. 3525, The Sportsmen's Act.  It is an honor to represent the people of Southwest Washington, and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
 
 

The Sportsmen's Act you mentioned was before the Senate and failed to pass by vote.  However you may like to know, this last April, I voted for, and the House passed,  The Sportsmen's Heritage Act ( HR 4089). This bill is aimed at putting vital protections on hunting, fishing, and shooting activities by combining multiple other pieces of legislation, including: 

 

The Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act-  Directs Federal land management agencies to expand and enhance hunting, shooting, and fishing activities on Federal land. It also establishes an "Open until Closed" policy for lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service (USFS), which means that public lands under these agencies is open for those specific recreational activities unless specific, targeted closures are necessitated by sound facts and evidence.

 

The Recreational Shooting Protection Act - This act requires congressional approval for any regulation to limit shooting on national monument lands by BLM. It also encourages BLM to act in a way that supports recreational shooting on the land they manage.

 

HR 1558, an Amendment to the Toxic Substance Control Act - This amendment protects traditional ammunition and fishing tackle from regulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A petition presented to the EPA has asked for a ban on all lead ammunition and tackle. Yet there are currently no scientific studies demonstrating adverse effects on wildlife populations. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated these items present no threat to human health.

 

The Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act - This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act to simply allow for importation permits to be issued for polar bear trophies that were taken  before the polar bear was listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Currently, many who legally hunted polar bears in Canada prior to their listing as an endangered species are prohibited from bringing parts of those bears back into the US. 

 

Going forward, I am committed to protecting the rights of Sportsmen and others who wish to responsibly enjoy our public lands.  The Sportsmen's Heritage Act will clarify Congress' intent to federal land management agencies and protect sportsmen from future burdensome regulations that government bureaucracies may impose. I am proud to support this legislation and will continue to work on behalf of Sportsmen's rights. 

 

Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue.  I invite you to visit my website at www.JaimeHB.house.gov for additional information or to sign up to be kept up to date on these issues.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of assistance.
 

[Bob33]

I received no replies from Cantwell or Murray (again I didn`t request one either).

We can speculate.

Murray urges passage of Sportsmen’s Bill, Calls on Republicans to Follow Rhetoric with Real Proposals

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Wednesday, November 28th, U.S. Senator Patty Murray delivered a speech on the Senate floor to call on her colleagues to pass Senate Bill 3525, the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012. The bill would enact a series of measures designed to ease restrictions on hunters and sportspeople throughout the United States.

“I am disappointed that my Republican colleagues have chosen to ignore an overwhelming number of Americans who support the reasonable, common sense proposals in this bill. Because Democrats are strongly in favor of passage, we will continue to fight for the hard working gun owners, hunters, and sportspeople in our country, and ask the Republicans to do the same. Unfortunately, Republicans have once again chosen to pander to the wealthiest Americans and right wing supporters including Bain Capital, Mitt Romney, George Bush, and Sarah Palin in an effort to divide our country.”

[huntrights]

No less than 46 of the nation’s leading sportsmen and conservation groups that represent us are asking that we continue to push for this bill.   Please don’t allow this Bill to become a political football.  If we don’t push for support of this Bill, we are hurting ourselves.  These organizations do far more research into these things than we can do as individuals; trust them.

Latest message from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF):

http://nssf.org/govrel/

Call Your U.S. Senators to Keep Sportsmen's Act Alive!

Urge your senators to continue their bipartisan work and get the bill passed before the end of the 112th Congress.

The Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (S.3525) still can be enacted in this Congress if we keep the pressure on. Call your senators today and urge them to work in a bipartisan manner to resolve budgetary concerns raised on Monday so the Sportsmen’s Act can be brought back to the floor for a vote on final passage. There are ongoing negotiations but time is running short. Tell your senators to compromise and reach a bipartisan agreement now. Learn More (http://www.nssfblog.com/sportsmens-act-will-soon-face-a-vote/).
Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to urge your senators to continue their bipartisan work on The Sportsmen’s Act of 2012. Let’s get the bill passed before the end of the 112th Congress. Find complete contact information for your elected officials here (http://capwiz.com/nssf/dbq/officials/).


Latest message from Keep America Fishing:

http://keepamericafishing.salsalabs.com/o/6394/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4086

Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 still alive in the U.S. Senate

Procedural Senate Motion Momentarily Stops Sportsmen's Act of 2012

Senators Tester (D-Mont.) and Sessions (R-Ala.) are working hard to resolve the budget point of order differences. When this compromise is reached the bill will again go to the Senate floor for a vote.
This is the largest sportsmen’s package in a generation; please send your Senator(s) a message to support this bill.

On November 26 in a surprise upset, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (S. 3525). After months of discussion with Senate members by a diverse coalition of angling, hunting and conservation organizations to create a historic bill containing 17 key provisions for anglers, hunters and fish and wildlife conservation, the bill failed to pass over a party line vote on a procedural motion.

The bill ran into trouble when a point of order was raised about whether the bill violated a 2011 budget agreement and a motion to waive the point of order failed by 10 votes. Budget related disputes are not uncommon when large pieces of legislation come to the Senate floor. It is however very uncommon for a budget point of order challenging a provision that would modestly increase revenues to sink a bill. Six senators were not present and the vote on the procedural motion to waive the point of order fell along party lines with the exception of two senators. To see how your Senator voted, please visit the voting results (http://keepamericafishing.salsalabs.com/o/6394/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=8764).

Background

Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.), along with fourteen co-sponsors, introduced the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 on September 10. Individual bills of particular importance to the sportfishing community in the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 include:

The Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Protection Act (S. 838) (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s838is/pdf/BILLS-112s838is.pdf) – Blocks ongoing attempts to federally ban lead in recreational fishing equipment and ammunition by amending the Toxic Substances Control Act.

National Fish Habitat Conservation Act (S. 1201) (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1201rs/pdf/BILLS-112s1201rs.pdf) – Authorizes the National Fish Habitat Partnership, the most comprehensive effort ever attempted to conserve, restore and enhance fish habitat on a range-wide scale.

Making Public Lands Public Act (S. 901) (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s901is/pdf/BILLS-112s901is.pdf) – Increases access for angling, hunting and recreational shooting on federal lands by directing 1.5 percent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund to ensure access to fishing, hunting and other recreational activities.

Keep the pressure on, please fill out the form below today!

The most effective thing you can do is to call your Senator’s office, and simply tell them to vote YES for final passage on S3525.  Type in your zip code below to see the phone number(s).
In order to address your message to the appropriate recipient, we need to identify where you are.

Please enter your zip/postal code: [Go to the web site (http://keepamericafishing.salsalabs.com/o/6394/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4086) to do this].

[JLS]

did this fail as posted on a diff thread?
ya murray and cantwell are a waste of time. Only Cantwell actually wrote me back after my contact. From some of her words it sounds like she may have voted no or abstained.

Cantwell and Murray both voted in support of it.