Ducks Unlimited officials praised the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee’s passage by voice vote Wednesday of the Federal Duck Stamp Act of 2014. The measure is now headed to the House floor for consideration. The Federal Duck Stamp Act of 2014, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate would raise the price of the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (duck stamp) to $25 from its current level of $15 and dedicate the amount of the increase to conservation easements with private landowners.
“Ducks Unlimited appreciates the support of House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA) and Ranking Democrat Peter DeFazio (Oregon) in moving quickly to report HR 5069 to the House floor, said Ducks Unlimited CEO Dale Hall. “We also appreciate the leadership of Subcommittee Chairman John Fleming (R-Louisiana) and the bipartisan co-sponsors in bringing the bill to the Committee for consideration. The price of the duck stamp was last adjusted 23 years ago. Since then, the price of land has tripled and conservation buying power has diminished greatly. Once again, sportsmen and women are willing to lead in funding conservation that benefits all of our citizens.”
Since its enactment in 1934, the federal duck stamp program has protected nearly 6 million acres of habitat through expenditures of more than $900 million. The price of the duck stamp has been raised only seven times. The last price increase raised the price of the stamp to $15 — the single longest period without a price increase in the program’s history. The Congressional Budget Office found that because the federal duck stamp is a user fee, such a price increase would have no net impact on federal spending.
Sponsored by Chairman Fleming, HR 5069 is originally co-sponsored in the House by Congressmen Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin), Jason Smith (R-Missouri) and Rob Wittman (R-Virginia).
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org. Connect with us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DucksUnlimited, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/DucksUnlimited and watch DU videos at www.youtube.com/DucksUnlimitedInc.
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