The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress
Both chambers are in session this week, and there’s a lot going on.

The energy bill has been jolted back to life. Last week, several Senators released any hold on that big, sweeping energy bill that we keep talking about, so the bill can finally move forward to the Senate floor. Senator Stabenow (D-Mich.) decided to find another vehicle to address the Flint, Michigan water contamination crisis, and Senator Cassidy (R-La.) also dropped his amendment that would have allowed a greater share of federal revenues from offshore energy production to go to Gulf Coast states. “The Energy Policy Modernization Act” could be considered on the Senate floor as early as this week. The resurfacing of the energy package is a win for hunters and anglers, because several provisions from “The Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act” have been included in an amendment offered by Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska). These provisions include reauthorization of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, and the establishment of “The National Fish Habitat Conservation Through Partnerships Act,” all of which help implement conservation projects that benefit fish and wildlife habitat.
The news on spending levels isn’t all bad. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) is optimistic that individual spending bills will soon be ready for floor consideration, and he continues to schedule mark-ups on the appropriations committees and subcommittess. On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee will mark up the spending bill for agriculture, rural development, the FDA, and related agencies, plus the “The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.”
Last Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled their 302(b) allocations, leaving the Interior-Environment spending bill with $134 million less than what was appropriated for fiscal year 2016. Cuts weren’t as deep as expected, though, since there is a $4.6-billion hole to fill in order to boost veteran’s programs.
But there is one major threat to clean water. Senators will now turn their attention to the Energy and Water Development Appropriations package on the floor this week. Sen. Hoeven (R-N.D.) is expected to offer an amendment to this bill that would defund the administration’s Clean Water Rule—this would be a blow to sportsmen who celebrated the rule’s improved protections for headwater streams, wetlands, fish, and waterfowl.
And that all-too-familiar threat to sage grouse still looms large. We’re learning that the Senate Armed Services Committee will begin a three-day mark-up of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on May 11. As we reported last week, the House version (scheduled for mark-up on Wednesday, April 27) is expected to include Rep. Bishop’s (R-Utah) “The Greater Sage Grouse Protection and Recovery Act of 2016,” which would prevent implementation of federal conservation plans for the bird and create an unprecedented shift in management authority of America’s public lands. More on that here. The TRCP is working hard with partner organizations to keep greater sage-grouse provisions out of any final NDAA package.
House Republicans punt Puerto Rico bill mark-up. Further discussion of “The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act” (PROMESA) was postponed, because of disagreements on the debt-related provisions of the bill. (GOP members want the bill to make investors the top priority over public pensions and unions.) We have a bone to pick, too: It’s the part where Congress would transfer the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which would then be clear to sell off public lands. Look for a mark-up on PROMESA in the House Natural Resources Committee next week.
Here’s what else we’re tracking:
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe headlines the list of witnesses for a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on the “Recent Changes to Endangered Species Critical Habitat Designation and Implementation”
Spending bills for the Environmental Protection Agency and agriculture-, energy-, and water-related agencies
Oil and gas development in different price environments, to be discussed in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing
Mineral leasing in the Alleghany National Forest will be the subject of a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Water conservation compliance and funding, plus a salmon conservation bill in a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans hearing
Using innovative technology to improve the water supply, to be explored in a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing
The process for delisting endangered and threatened species (of which there are 2,258) will be discussed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Interior in a hearing
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Greater sage grouse conservation could be in the mix when the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness meets to mark-up the National Defense Authorization Act (see above)
Legislation impacting public lands in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, and Virginia, to be examined in a jam-packed Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining hearing