Post by FWS on Jul 8, 2014 12:38:18 GMT -6
Gun ammunition provision for hunters generates controversy for sportsmen's bill
A deer hunter in Louisiana is shown in this file photo. A bill designed to expand hunting opportunities on federal land advanced in the Senate Monda
By Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
July 07, 2014
WASHINGTON -- Returning from a one-week recess, the Senate voted 84-12 Monday to proceed with debate on legislation that would ease restrictions on hunters and fishers while continuing a popular wetlands restoration program.
But final passage of The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 isn't certain, with some senators and environmental groups raising objections to a provision that would end an EPA requirement that ammunition makers limit use of lead and other toxic materials for guns used by hunters. That provision is sought by the National Rifle Association and some groups representing hunters who complain about ammunition shortages.
And some Republicans who support the bill said they could end up voting to block the legislation's enactment if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid puts a limit on GOP amendments.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, worked to get several provisions included in the bill: a provision extending the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, which funds wetlands restoration projects in Louisiana; and a measure that would provide an exemption for game bird hunting on lands affected by natural disasters.
On his hunting provision, Vitter said he was motivated by a 2009 decision from the Fish and Wildlife Service that denied Louisiana duck hunters access to fields where Hurricane Gustav destroyed crops, saying that the fields had been "baited."
"Louisiana, the sportsman paradise, is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, which is why it is so important to find the balance between conserving them, and also protecting public access," Vitter said.
Connecticut's two senators, Democrats Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, voted against allowing debate to move forward, saying it is wrong to pass legislation that effectively extends gun use on federal lands before Congress acts to protect against gun violence, such as the 2012 mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that killed 20 first graders and six educators.
"Since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Congress has done nothing to prevent gun violence in our schools, in our homes, and on our streets," Murphy said. "That should be our number one focus."
HuntForTruth.org, a coalition of pro-gun rights and hunting advocates, said the environmental harm claimed by supporters of limits on lead-based ammunition has been exaggerated.
Not so said the Center for Biological Diversity's Bill Snape.
"American eagles, swans and other wildlife don't deserve to die painful deaths and suffer horrific injuries form lead positioning," Snape said in a statement Monday. "And yet the Senate is poised to allow these barbaric poisonings to continue."
Vitter and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., missed Monday's procedural vote. Landrieu presided over a hearing in Lafayette Monday by her Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on oil and gas development.
"This is a resource that needs to be harnessed and tapped, and that is why we are here today as the Department of the Interior begins to develop its new five-year offshore energy plan," Landrieu said. "We need to act and turn this promising potential into a reality. Having these potential resources beneath our waters and not using them is shortsighted and makes us more dependent on countries that are unstable or do not share our values. The next 5-year plan must open up more areas for energy production off of our coasts."
Among those testifying were Walter Cruickshank, acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and Adam Sieminski, administrator of the Energy Information Administration
A deer hunter in Louisiana is shown in this file photo. A bill designed to expand hunting opportunities on federal land advanced in the Senate Monda
By Bruce Alpert
Times-Picayune
July 07, 2014
WASHINGTON -- Returning from a one-week recess, the Senate voted 84-12 Monday to proceed with debate on legislation that would ease restrictions on hunters and fishers while continuing a popular wetlands restoration program.
But final passage of The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 isn't certain, with some senators and environmental groups raising objections to a provision that would end an EPA requirement that ammunition makers limit use of lead and other toxic materials for guns used by hunters. That provision is sought by the National Rifle Association and some groups representing hunters who complain about ammunition shortages.
And some Republicans who support the bill said they could end up voting to block the legislation's enactment if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid puts a limit on GOP amendments.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, worked to get several provisions included in the bill: a provision extending the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, which funds wetlands restoration projects in Louisiana; and a measure that would provide an exemption for game bird hunting on lands affected by natural disasters.
On his hunting provision, Vitter said he was motivated by a 2009 decision from the Fish and Wildlife Service that denied Louisiana duck hunters access to fields where Hurricane Gustav destroyed crops, saying that the fields had been "baited."
"Louisiana, the sportsman paradise, is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, which is why it is so important to find the balance between conserving them, and also protecting public access," Vitter said.
Connecticut's two senators, Democrats Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, voted against allowing debate to move forward, saying it is wrong to pass legislation that effectively extends gun use on federal lands before Congress acts to protect against gun violence, such as the 2012 mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that killed 20 first graders and six educators.
"Since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Congress has done nothing to prevent gun violence in our schools, in our homes, and on our streets," Murphy said. "That should be our number one focus."
HuntForTruth.org, a coalition of pro-gun rights and hunting advocates, said the environmental harm claimed by supporters of limits on lead-based ammunition has been exaggerated.
Not so said the Center for Biological Diversity's Bill Snape.
"American eagles, swans and other wildlife don't deserve to die painful deaths and suffer horrific injuries form lead positioning," Snape said in a statement Monday. "And yet the Senate is poised to allow these barbaric poisonings to continue."
Vitter and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., missed Monday's procedural vote. Landrieu presided over a hearing in Lafayette Monday by her Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on oil and gas development.
"This is a resource that needs to be harnessed and tapped, and that is why we are here today as the Department of the Interior begins to develop its new five-year offshore energy plan," Landrieu said. "We need to act and turn this promising potential into a reality. Having these potential resources beneath our waters and not using them is shortsighted and makes us more dependent on countries that are unstable or do not share our values. The next 5-year plan must open up more areas for energy production off of our coasts."
Among those testifying were Walter Cruickshank, acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and Adam Sieminski, administrator of the Energy Information Administration