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

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.

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

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

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

After a five-week recess, Congress returned to work Sept. 8 with the hope of averting a government shutdown before rushing back to the campaign trail. With many close elections anticipated and Congressional approval ratings in the single digits, Congressional members are currently spending more time trying to get reelected than

With 24 co-sponsors, a bill introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) has the full support of several large, diverse organizations working together to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). H.R. 875 was reported out of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee in April 2014 and is waiting for House

Congress sent H.R. 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act, to President Obama Aug. 1. The bill successfully amends the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund to May 31, 2015 and provides funding for programs important to recreational boating for coastal wetlands restoration, recreational boating safety, sport fish restoration,

Many conservatives who believe “no legislation is good legislation,” after years of Congress passing laws that created an anti-business government bogged down by too many rules and regulations, may rejoice in the inaction of our current Do-Nothing Congress. Others may feel the opposite and lament Congress’ inability to get things

In the face of rapidly changing and advancing technology like GPS, AIS, electronic chart display, cellular devices and the like, the fundamental navigation needs of mariners have changed significantly over the last decade. These changes have presented the federal government — including the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of