The National Marine Manufacturers Association today announced that U.S. representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, which supports critical conservation and infrastructure programs in all 50 states.
Established in 1950, the fund directs excise tax revenue from fishing equipment, powerboat fuel and other boating-related sources into a range of national and state-level programs.
“Thanks to the leadership of Representatives Dingell and Wittman, we are one step closer to reauthorizing the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund and ensuring that the program begins addressing modern issues impacting the recreational boating community,” NMMA president and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer said in a statement. “Paid for by recreational boaters, anglers and manufacturers, the trust fund is the backbone of fisheries habitat restoration and boating infrastructure, providing critical funding for these efforts at the national and state levels, and we call on all members of Congress to swiftly approve this overwhelmingly bipartisan bill.”
