Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, I rise to thank and congratulate my Environmental and Public Works Committee colleagues on the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act. This legislation will now join the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's sportsmen's package that was approved last fall. I hope this legislation can now swiftly advance to the Senate floor for consideration and approval.

As a member of the EPW Committee and vice chair of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with my colleagues on legislation to promote our country's hunting, fishing, and conservation heritage. The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act includes a broad array of bipartisan measures that enhance opportunities for hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts by preserving our Nation's rich outdoor heritage.

This bill also expands and enhances hunting and fishing opportunities on Federal lands by establishing a more open policy for recreational activities to gain access on public lands. The bill also provides States with more flexibility to build and maintain public shooting ranges, allowing greater opportunities for more Americans to engage in recreational and competitive shooting activities.

It prevents groups from restricting ammunition choices, which would unnecessarily drive up costs, hurt participation in shooting sports, and consequently decrease important conservation funding. I am especially encouraged by the fact that this bill includes a bipartisan amendment which is identical to the Sensible Environmental Protection Act that I promoted with Senators Carper and Crapo. It targets the duplicative permitting of pesticides under FIFRA and the Clean Water Act.

This duplicative process has created unnecessary burdens on resources for pesticide users such as private homeowners, businesses, golf courses, local water, and natural resource authorities, and of course the sportsmen's community.

All across the country sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts utilize pesticides for critical habitat management by suppressing harmful pests and vector-borne diseases, which threaten outdoor activities of all kinds. Eliminating harmful and invasive pests is crucial to vegetation and ecosystem management.

This legislation clarifies that the NPDES permits should not be required for the application of pesticides that are already approved by the EPA authorized for sale, distribution or use under FIFRA. These products benefit outdoor recreation enthusiasts by protecting and maintaining natural habitats.

Another priority that I championed increases transparency for the Judgment Fund. This provision will help our efforts to track taxpayer- funded litigation that impacts public lands policies. As my colleagues may know, the Judgment Fund is administered by the Treasury Department and is used to pay certain court judgments and settlements against the Federal Government. Essentially, this fund is an unlimited amount of taxpayer dollars which is set aside for Federal Government liability.

The Judgment Fund is not subject to the annual appropriations process, and even more remarkably, the Treasury Department has no reporting requirements so these funds are paid out with very little oversight or scrutiny. This is no small matter, as the Judgment Fund disburses billions of dollars in payments every year. Since the Treasury Department is not bound by reporting requirements, few public details exist about where the funds are going and why.

The Public Lands Council has denounced the lack of oversight of the Judgment Fund, stating that ``certain groups continuously sue the Federal Government and Treasury simply writes a check to foot the bill without providing Members of Congress and American taxpayers basic information about the payment.'' This kind of litigation can have a major impact on sportsmen and others who enjoy multiple uses of Federal lands. A GAO report regarding cases filed against the EPA showed a disturbing pattern where groups and big law firms are suing under the same statutes to push a political agenda through the courts. The legislation I introduced with Senator Gardner, known as the Judgment Fund Transparency Act, has been included as a provision in ENR's Sportmen's Act. It will bring these cases to light. Simply put, more transparency leads to greater accountability.

Members of Congress have worked hard on the Bipartisan Sportmen's Act for the last 6 years. It is time for the Senate to take action. We have the opportunity to provide the sportsmen's community with the certainty that they need to allow important conservation work to thrive without fear of destructive Federal redtape.

I am proud to be the vice chair of the Sportsmen's Caucus, and I look forward to continuing our work to advance these important legislative measures.

I thank the Presiding Officer.

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Mrs. FISCHER. I will. I see Senator Blumenthal on the floor.

I thank the Chair.

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