Important Message from Keep America Fishing:
Procedural Senate Motion Momentarily Stops Sportsmen’s Act of 2012
Senators Tester (D-Mont.) and Sessions (R-Ala.) are working hard to resolve the budget point of order differences. When this compromise is reached the bill will again go to the Senate floor for a vote.
This is the largest sportsmen’s package in a generation; please send your Senator(s) a message to support this bill.
On November 26 in a surprise upset, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (S. 3525). After months of discussion with Senate members by a diverse coalition of angling, hunting and conservation organizations to create a historic bill containing 17 key provisions for anglers, hunters and fish and wildlife conservation, the bill failed to pass over a party line vote on a procedural motion (link to Washington Post article).
The bill ran into trouble when a point of order was raised about whether the bill violated a 2011 budget agreement and a motion to waive the point of order failed by 10 votes. Budget related disputes are not uncommon when large pieces of legislation come to the Senate floor. It is however very uncommon for a budget point of order challenging a provision that would modestly increase revenues to sink a bill. Six senators were not present and the vote on the procedural motion to waive the point of order fell along party lines with the exception of two senators.
THE SENATORS FROM NORTHEAST STATES WHO VOTED “NO”
Ayotte, Kelly; 202-224-3324 (R-NH)
Brown, Scott; 202-224-4543 (R-MA)
Collins, Susan; 202-224-2523 (R-ME)
Toomey, Patrick; 202-224-4254 (R-PA)