I attended a briefing this afternoon on the upcoming case the Supreme Court will hold, which may repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act. Many small businesses and marine retailers are very concerned about the cost (affordability) of the Affordable Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare). From March 26 to 28, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court […]

The link below will take you to a brief article by The Huffington Post on the current status of the House Transportation Bill, and it sites several political reasons for the delay in the floor vote. It now appears Republicans will muster enough votes to bring the bill to the floor in late February. The […]

The following is an article from the Annapolis Capital newspaper about a proposal to raise boat registration fees in the state of Maryland. Registration would be for two years, and you can see the level of payment by size of boat. State proposes hiking boat fees Larry InnisMRAA Legislative Affairs

The following includes a brief report from the Republican Policy Committee on the implementation of the new health care law, which is commonly being called Obamacare. It is political, but I thought you would find it a good read.  As the statement says, small businesses, including many marine retailers, want the law repealed. White House […]

As you will see from the Minority Whip’s Schedule, The House will begin debate tomorrow on H.R. 7, the Transportation Bill. As a reminder the House Bill contains important language unfreezing the funds from the Harbor Maintenance Fund needed for dredging and re-authorization of the old Wallop-Breaux.   Larry InnisMRAA Legislative Affairs

Since we have been working hard on the passage of H.R. 7, I thought you may want to read the very brief budget impact, as prepared by the Congressional Budget Office. This budget impact report is a necessary effort prior to a bill going to the House floor for a vote. We are now expecting […]

Just a brief update on the re-authorization of the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. As you may recall, I have sent several messages and MRAA sent a Dealer Alert on efforts to re-authorize the Highway Trust Fund in the House of Representatives. It appears the floor vote will come up next week. In […]

The attached file below is a summary the Transportation Bill the House may be voting on as early as Thursday.  As I mentioned in a previous email, the bill re-authorizes the important Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Safety Act and releases the Harbor Maintenance Fund from the freeze placed on it by the President. If […]

The issue of Asian Carp is big along the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Illinois River, with numerous efforts being made to keep the carp from entering the Great Lakes through the Chicago River. The Corps of Engineers has been building various kinds of barriers to prevent that from happening. The following is an article […]

The following link will take you to an article I saw in today’s Washington Post on the status of the Transportation Bill. As you may recall, the Transportation Bill has been one of the most important bills for recreational boating for over 30-years. It is important because the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Safety Trust […]