On Tuesday, the United States Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, H.R. 3864, by a vote of 69-30. This bill, totaling a $1 trillion investment in our nation’s infrastructure, includes many priorities and measures that will benefit the recreational boating industry. Just after passage, the Senate quickly shifted attention to the Budget Reconciliation process – voting 50-49 to adopt a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint.

The Senate passed infrastructure bill contains a variety of provisions key to the recreational boating community:

• Reauthorizes the $750 million Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund — a user-pay, user-benefit system, and the backbone of aquatic conservation projects across the country.
• $10 billion to support U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recreation infrastructure priorities. (Note: USACE manages 12 million acres of recreation lands and waters, with 256 million American visiting USACE managed recreation sites each year.)
• $455 million annually for five years for the Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), which will allow significant improvements to port facilities on coasts, rivers, and the Great Lakes.
• $7 billion for USACE infrastructure priorities, which includes funding for projects on storm damage reduction and coastal storm risk management.
• $4.35 billion for Western water infrastructure, which will promote ecosystem restoration and make boating access more resilient across the West.

The House, which is out on recess and slated to return on Aug. 23, has set its sights on passing the Budget Reconciliation bill before passing the Infrastructure Bill as there is a Sept. 14 deadline. Although still skeletal and requiring further development, the Budget Reconciliation bill aims to expand Medicare, combat climate change, and boost federal safety net programs. Although this bill is broad in scope, there is a focus on coastal resiliency and funding for Small Business Administration programs, two items that will benefit the recreational boating industry.

Reconciliation, the process by which the $3.5 trillion budget is being moved, is a special procedure that makes legislation easier to pass in the Senate. Instead of needing 60 votes to exit the Senate, these bills only need a simple majority. Each year, Congress sets total spending, revenues, the surplus or deficit, and the public debt. Reconciliation directs committees to recommend changes in spending, revenues, deficits, and/or the debt limit. Next, committees are provided with buckets of funding and may choose to increase costs in some areas as well as reduce costs in others so long as the net budgetary effect of a committee proposals is in line with its instruction. These recommendations are then sent to the Budget Committee who then reports these to the House floor.

Reconciliation is currently still in its early stages and the bill will go through a variety of changes as both the House and Senate make edits throughout the process. MRAA will continue to provide updates on the bill and specific provisions that will benefit marine businesses and the recreational boating industry.

About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.