WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 17, 2020 – On June 5th, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act of 2020 into law, officially making significant changes to the Paycheck Protection Program. MRAA outlines some of the major changes in our document here.    Notable changes include: –       Loans can be used for 24 […]

  WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 17, 2020 – The U.S. Senate passed the Great American Outdoors Ac this afternoon with a 73- 25 vote earlier this afternoon. This package is the largest public lands and conservation package in the past 50 years, and the single largest outdoor recreation package ever passed. The Great American Outdoors […]

Last night, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation that would give Paycheck Protection Program borrowers more freedom in how to use funds and still have loans forgiven. The same legislation, dubbed the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, was passed in a near-unanimous vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation introduced by Reps. Dean Phillips […]

MRAA government relations manager Adam Fortier-Brown recently wrote an op-ed published in the Portland Press Herald on the importance of pre-disaster funding for small businesses, and the Great American Outdoors Act.   “This pandemic is one without modern precedent, but one we still could have better prepared for. … Historically, the U.S. has not emphasized […]

On Friday, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross met with recreational fishing and boating industry leaders at Maverick Boat Group, Inc. in Fort Pierce, Fla., to discuss marine recreational fishing access and the importance of marine recreation to the U.S. economy. Following a tour of the manufacturing facility, Secretary Ross indicated good news is ahead for […]

WASHINGTON, DC — On the evening of May 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their $3 trillion coronavirus relief package, the HEROES Act, mostly along party lines with 14 Democratic defections and a handful of Republicans backing the legislation. The Republican controlled Senate is not expected to consider the measure.    This messaging bill […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 6, 2020 – Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) released a letter today signed by 29 national outdoor recreation trade associations – including the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) – supporting over 100,000 businesses, urging Congress to pass the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). This legislation would fully fund the Land […]

On Saturday, April 18, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont today announced marinas, boatyards and marine manufacturers will be allowed to open for personal use as long as strict social distancing and sanitation protocols are followed. Chartered watercraft services or rentals will not be allowed, […]

On April 21, The U.S. Senate reached a deal on a $484 billion funding package, to expand the popular Paycheck Protection Program, and increase funding for U.S. health systems, and expand COVID-19 testing and contract tracing capabilities. The funding package will now move to the U.S. House of Representatives, and is expected to receive a […]

MRAA’s Advocacy team is calling on all state Governors to adopt the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) guidelines on identification of critical infrastructure businesses and employees, which includes marinas, and repair and maintenance facilities. Many states have issued shelter at home policies to limit public movement to fight the spread […]