During a House Natural Resources Committee markup meeting before the Congressional recess, Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR) spoke about the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025.
00:00A gentlelady from Oregon is recognized. Ms. Holder.
00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do recognize the vital role that hunters and anglers play in conservation efforts across the nation,
00:14and certainly in my district. Sportsmen are some of our strongest conservation champions,
00:21contributing billions of dollars through license fees and excise taxes that fund wildlife conservation programs.
00:28And I fully agree we should make it a priority to keep federal lands.
00:32However, I do have concerns about H.R. 556. The legislation, in my opinion, doesn't take the right approach.
00:39It could ultimately harm the very wildlife population that hunters and anglers work to conserve.
00:47And the science is clear, lead ammunition and tackle can poison wildlife.
00:53And I've seen the impacts in Oregon where lead poisoning has affected species like the bald eagle and the California condor.
01:01Many of my constituents hunt for food. That's how they feed their families every year.
01:06And the threat of lead poisoning from lead ammunition is real and something we should take under consideration.
01:13This bill, as I read it, makes it nearly impossible for local land managers to address the problem by setting the bar so high that most areas could never meet the requirements,
01:24and it would cost too much money and take too long to prove what we already know.
01:29This bill could also undermine local control. And in a home rule state, local control is very, very important across my district, regardless of what political persuasion the area is.
01:45Thirty-eight states already have some kind of lead restrictions that work well.
01:50And states like Oregon have shown that you can protect wildlife and keep hunting and fishing at the same time.
01:55They've done it with programs like gear exchanges that help hunters and anglers switch to alternatives without breaking the bank.
02:02Because, yes, it is expensive. And we do have to take that into consideration to find non-lead alternatives.
02:11So instead of creating a fight between hunters and land managers, I believe we should be learning from what's already working.
02:18We can support programs that help people voluntarily make the switch to non-lead ammunition, offer incentives for alternatives, and keep investing in research.
02:27These programs have helped drive down the cost of non-lead gear.
02:31And if we keep up the momentum, I think we can do even more.
02:35This makes more sense to me than tying the hands of land managers and ignoring what we already know about protecting wildlife.
02:43I want to keep working with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to find real solutions, solutions that truly protect access for hunters and anglers,
02:52while making sure the wildlife that we love, especially, you know, the bald eagle, will be there for our children and grandchildren,
03:00because that's what conservation is really about.
03:03I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation, and I yield the remainder of my time to Ranking Member Huffman.
03:12You're not sure I want everybody to undermine my masculine power in terms of forgiving they are.
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