Over the past few months, Congress has been making headway when it comes to breaking up the gridlock of previous years in the House and Senate and finally getting some much-needed legislation passed. In December, the House and Senate easily passed a budget bill for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015. Then, in January, Congress passed […]

Tax reform will be hotly contested in Washington this year, as groups campaign to retain valuable tax breaks for their clients and respective industries. Partisan divide over the goals of tax reform may be even more controversial in 2014, with Democrats seeking to raise revenues and Republicans advocating for a revenue-neutral reform bill. MRAA remains […]

MRAA supports this year’s reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary law governing U.S. commercial saltwater fisheries. The, named after former U.S. Senators Warren Magnuson (Washington) and Ted Stevens (Alaska), was originally enacted in 1976 and has been reauthorized several times. It’s due for reauthorization again in 2014. Over the years, […]

MRAA joined several other pro-business trade associations under leadership of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by signing a letter of support for H.R. 2804, the Achieving Less Excess in Regulations and Requiring Transparency (ALERT) Act. The letter was sent to all members of the House of Representatives. H.R. 2804 includes major principles of accountability, transparency […]

On February 5, Rep. Candice Miller (R-Michigan) introduced H.R. 4001, the Defending Against Aquatic Invasive Species Act, to authorize swift preventive action to stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, where no action has yet been scheduled. H.R. 4001 has […]

In 2013, the American Boating Congress (ABC) was co-hosted by 31 industry organizations who worked together to create a dynamic and engaging program, that met the needs of the entire recreational boating industry. This year, driven by 2013’s success, 36 industry partners have agreed to co-host ABC, answering the call to strengthen the industry’s collective advocacy impact. ABC will be […]

The anti-ethanol DC coalition, Smarter Fuel Future, which MRAA is a member, generated over 10,000 comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in support of its recent proposal to maintain 2013 blend volumes for corn-based ethanol. The marine industry contributed over 1,800 of those comments. During January, the coalition led a campaign that was strongly […]

MRAA supports H.R. 3896, a bill introduced on January 16, 2014 by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, to amend the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act to provide a definition of recreational vessel that is a better and clearer application of the Longshore Act to marinas and insurance companies providing service work on recreational boats. There are […]

For the past several years, Congress has faced a year-end deadline to pass the tax extenders bill. It has been one of Congress’s bad habits. But it did not happen this year causing several key pro-business tax deductions like the estate tax and allowing business to deduct the cost of equipment purchases in the year […]

A bipartisan effort to find new revenue to fund roads, bridges, and mass transit may hit recreational boating hard. Historically, transportation has been a bipartisan effort in Congress. So far 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats in the House support a plan that would fund loans for infrastructure improvements from bonds that would be sold to […]