Recently Representative Clyde from Georgia introduced a bill, H.R. 8167, in the US House of Representatives. This bill is referred to as the “RETURN (Repealing Excise Tax on Unalienable Rights Now) our Constitutional Rights Act of 2022” and essentially guts the Pittman-Robertson Act, also known as the Wildlife Restoration Act. This act is historic piece of legislation that has helped fund wildlife conservation in this country for 85 years. Currently there are 53 co-sponsors of this bill and the argument is that the Pittman-Robertson Act is an attack on Second Amendment rights.
The Pittman-Robertson Act was passed in 1937 with overwhelming bipartisan support. It never would have come to be if it had not been for outdoors men and women who fought for it. They saw the declining wildlife populations and chose to stand up and act in order to fight for what they believed in. During the height of the Great Depression the outdoors community came together to basically tax themselves. The Pittman-Robertson Act places a 11% excise tax on items such as firearms and ammunition, although there are much more. This tax is paid by the manufactures and passed on to the consumers. Arguably, the passage of this legislation is one of the major factors that have helped save many wildlife populations.
Funds collected from the excise tax are deposited in the Wildlife Restoration Account and used to fund several different programs. They include, program administration, traditional multistate conservation grants, R3” (“Recruit, Retain, Reactivate”) and multistate grants, which include enhanced hunter education and safety grants, basic hunter education and safety grants, wildlife restoration grants. The funds provided to the states are done so through a matching program where the federal agency matches the state agency’s funds for various programs. The requirement is that the states are prohibited from diverting any funds received from hunting and angling license fees. These funds must be retained to fund the state wildlife agency.
Although wildlife conservation has come a long way in the last 85 years since the passing of Pittman-Robertson, there is still a lot of work to do. Wildlife populations and habitat conditions are in jeopardy and need our attention before it is too late. Whether you believe in climate change or not we have serious issues that need to be addressed. Pittman-Robertson is a significant tool in the funding necessary to make a difference. Between 2016 and 2020 funds produced averaged approximately $718 million annually. Last year, 2021, a record breaking $1.5 billion was brought in. Another point to make is that these funds are protected and congress cannot “raid the cookie jar” when they feel the need. Clearly Pittman-Robertson is a huge success in funding wildlife conservation in this country.
I do appreciate the Representative from Georgia wanting to stand up for my Second Amendment rights. However, I do believe this is a bit of political theater and somehow, he has convinced 53 of his colleagues that this is a good idea. Remember, the Pittman-Robertson Act was championed by those who it would ultimately tax. They did so at a time of financial turmoil putting the burden on themselves. I like to think that those in the outdoor space who contribute to the funding of Pittman-Robertson are just as proud today as those who fought for its creation 85 years ago. How anyone thinks Pittman-Robertson is an attack on Second Amendment rights is beyond me. It has worked just fine for the last 85 years and the phrase, “if it ain’r broke, don’t fix it” clearly applies in this case.
This is my call to action for anyone reading this, and I hope many do. Contact your legislators and tell them this is a bad bill and you will not support it. They work for us and we have to ensure we let them know what is important to us. Call them, email them, Tweet them, whatever it takes to get your message across. Spread the word to others and tell them to do the same. The outdoor community needs to do better by banding together as one voice and standing up for what we believe in.
I will take the time here to put out a call to action to go over to www.howlforwildlife.org and sign up for free on their platform. Chris and I are huge supporters of what they are doing and ask you to check them out. The platform makes it easy to make your voice heard on a multitude of topics, the RETURN Act being one of them. In fact, the RETURN Act has actually help fuel some of the methods in which the platform helps us communicate with those behind legislation. Specifically, for the RETURN Act the website provides you with a means to email, fax, call and tweet all 53 co-sponsors as well as the sponsor. We cannot say enough good things about this platform and we highly encourage you to check it out. Even though it is a new platform it has already made an impact. Thank you for taking the time to read this. A bit longer than my normal posts but this is important. Please share this post with other like-minded people and ask them to speak up as well. Check out the video posts I have put up on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Plus, you can find us on Twitter (@oldbreedoutdoor) and retweet the tweets we put up about this topic. Help us preserve the future of wildlife conservation in this great nation.
