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Senate Committee Approves Sport Fish Restoration Boating Trust Fund Ahead of Recess

By Taylor Matsko posted 08-05-2020 12:39 PM

  

Senate Committee Approves Sport Fish Restoration Boating Trust Fund Ahead of Recess

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has approved reauthorization of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (S. 4144), a key priority for members of the recreational boating community. The program supports fishery restoration and conservation efforts, and boating safety and access. The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (SFRBTF), which is set to expire in 2020, supports the recreational boating community with approximately $650 million in annual funding.

"The collaborative work of the partner organizations of the Angling and Boating Alliance (ABA) has led to the introduction of a bill that will lead to the reauthorization of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund over the next five years,” said Tom Guess, Chair, NASBLA Trust Fund Committee. “It is very rewarding when the consensus of the diverse groups that are represented on the ABA and who support sport fishing and recreational boating, can come together to achieve something that greatly benefits our community as a whole."

The bill will now advance to the full Senate for consideration. While reauthorization of the Trust Fund is a key component of this bill, if passed the bill would also require studies on the use of human-powered vessels and their impact on vessel waterway access, as well as the impact of derelict vessels and identified recyclable solutions for recreational vessels.

The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund is a voluntary, user-pays – user-benefits system created by recreational boaters and anglers in 1950 to pay for critical conservation programs and recreational boating infrastructure projects in all 50 states.

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