Ron Kind: “I rise in support of H.R. 3671, legislation to improve the financial management and accountability of the Office of…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 3671, legislation to improve the financial management and accountability of the Office of Federal Aid within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Under current law, the Office of Federal Aid reallocates funds collected through Federal excise taxes on guns, ammunition, and archery equipment to individual States for fish and wildlife restoration projects. Hunters and outdoorsmen as well as recreation and conservation groups in my district in western Wisconsin and throughout America rely on these restoration projects to improve habitat and fishable waters. Unfortunately, recent evidence documented by the GAO indicates that the administration and financial oversight of the Federal aid in the wildlife and sport fish restoration program may be a little lax. This has resulted in the unfair public perception that misallocation and abuse has occurred throughout the Fish and Wildlife Service. To correct this problem, H.R. 3671 caps the amount of administrative dollars available for administration use to implement wildlife and sport fish restoration programs. While I support this legislation, I do share the concern of the gentleman from California that this bill as currently written may go too far and end up restricting the overall effectiveness of the fish and wildlife restoration programs.”