The House Committee on Natural Resources gave initial approval to H.R. 1335, or the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act” on April 30th. Introduced by Congressman Don Young (R-AK), the measure incorporates key provisions of the Morris-Deal Commission Report on Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Management. Congressman Young commented on the measure, stating […]

Recently, the House approved legislation to repeal the 40% federal tax on estates. H.R. 1105, introduced by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) passed the GOP controlled chamber by a vote of 240-179.  In the Senate, Sen. Jon Thune (R-S.D.) is sponsoring a companion bill, as well as a successful amendment to the Senate’s 2016 budget. Although […]

MRAA Identifies Legislative Priorities for 2015 “Take action to be an advocate and supporter of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund to ensure its continued vitality and success as a “user pays, public benefits” program, as it is one of the most important programs in the nation for fisheries management, conservation, boating safety, angler and […]

On Saturday evening, Nov. 15, representatives of the many regional, state and local marine trades associations will meet for the 26th time at the annual Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, the industry’s premier dealer educational event, to discuss legislation at the state and federal level. Under the organization of the Advisory Council of Marine Associations […]

It’s around this time that MRAA members typically ask the association to make predictions regarding “what’s next” for the coming year on the Hill. MRAA has frequent discussions year-round with Hill staff and lobbyists who get involved in the political process, and this year is no different. The consensus for a long time has been […]

On Sept. 22, MRAA and 13 other groups working to change the renewable fuel standard for ethanol additives to gasoline met in the West Wing of the White House to discuss the impacts of current renewable fuels and to ask the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain current […]

It’s a strange environment on Capitol Hill when members and staff return to work immediately following the Nov. 2 elections. Several Senators and Representatives will have lost their seats, returning to the Hill to wait out the Lame Duck period and begin the process of closing up their D.C. offices. Staffers will initiate the hunt […]

Responding to a boating fatality in New York, two similar bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate that would require a maximum passenger capacity placard be posted on recreational boats. On Aug. 1, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced S. 2774, the Boating Capacity Standards Act. The bill gives the U.S. Coast […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent its final Renewable Fuel Standard rule on volume obligation to the Office of Management and Budget for interagency review in late August. OMB reviews all agency-written rules prior to finalization to ensure compliance with administration policy. It’s expected the review process at OMB will take several months to complete. […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Sept. 3 that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will provide almost $12 million to federal and state agencies to protect public health by targeting harmful algae blooms in western Lake Erie. The funding is additional money that builds on current efforts to reduce algae blooms. The problems reached critical […]