When the Pittman-Robertson Act passed in 1937, wildlife conservation in America hit a much-needed turning point. Animals that were hunted to near extinction started to rebound, wild places saw protection, and the nation became focused on the survival of our natural resources.
In the 87 years since, Americans have passed important legislation to create additional funding sources and expand approved use for P-R funds, further ensuring the nation has abundant game species to pursue and wild places to explore. Unfortunately, some lawmakers have questioned and attacked the P-R Act by trying to steal the funds, or hunting license dollars that are also protected in the Act.
While there hasn’t been a successful diversion of funds since the Act’s passage, this kind of attack poses a constant threat. This is why the ATA and outdoor industry organizations continually work to maintain the program’s integrity and ongoing support among Americans.
Dan Forster, ATA’s vice president and chief conservation officer, shares ATA’s role and efforts to ensure the FET program is fair and the money is used appropriately. He also outlines program threats, recent improvements and potential future changes to the funding mechanism, which would help ensure the program’s longevity.
ATA’s Role
“As a trade association, we work with ATA members to ensure they know about the excise tax, help them understand how payments are made, and what the money is used for,” Forster said. “We also work directly with state partners to help identify high-priority projects that our industry is most interested. We engage with federal partners like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Internal Revenue Service to ensure FET dollars are being administered appropriately and doing what they’re supposed to do.”
By working with different people and parties along the FET collection, distribution and auditing process, Forster said the ATA helps ensure our industry, customers and constituents benefit from the industry’s investment.
Funding Threats
The ATA also works to defend and protect against threats to the P-R Act or toward its funding. Forster said there is always a risk of political interference, especially when state legislatures start making budget decisions in a tight budget year. In other words, lawmakers sometimes try to steal license dollars or P-R funds for nonconservation-related issues.
Fortunately, with support from entities like the ATA, the USFWS steps in to explain how a diversion of funds from the intended use will suspend all current and future P-R program funds, hurting the state wildlife agency and conservation efforts across the state.
Attempts such as these happen regularly across the country, but because of intense audits and a thorough check and balance system, P-R dollars haven’t been diverted and remain protected for conservation use.
Staying Current
ATA’s article, “How Your Federal Excise Tax Contributions Benefit States, Wildlife and Conservationists,” explains how the funds are used across the country. Thankfully, as the outdoor industry and hunting landscape changes, the authorizing legislation and program administration is also changing to remain current and relevant. While the P-R program and taxes on firearms and ammunition have been around since 1937, the archery industry started contributing to the Wildlife Restoration Act in 1972, adding an average of $57 million annually to the program over the past ten years. Two pieces of legislation passed in 2019 to help refresh the program, including:
- A bill called “Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow’s Needs,” aka the Pittman-Robertson Modernization Act, which passed as part of a large appropriations package in December 2019. The bill allowed state wildlife agencies to use the funds for marketing and communication efforts, especially for recruitment, retention and reactivation programs to engage new and long-time hunters and anglers.
- Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act: This Act lifted range-building restrictions for hunter education purposes only and allowed states to build ranges for recreational target shooters with firearms or archery gear. The Act also made it more enticing for states to spend more P-R funds on ranges because it changed the required match from 25% to 10%.
These legislative changes help align the program with modern-day requirements, such as encouraging participants to start or continue hunting, and providing places for people, especially those in cities, to shoot and practice.
Potential Future Changes
Forster said there are additional improvement opportunities that can help the P-R Act better conform to modern-day settings.
Take Federal Excise Tax Slippage, for example, an issue affecting the archery industry, the entire conservation community, and individual manufacturers, dealers and consumers. In short, non-U.S. companies are selling products to U.S. consumers online. Because the online process doesn’t recognize internet marketplace facilitators as importers who would otherwise be responsible for paying the federal excise taxes on these transactions, these funds are slipping through the cracks. As a result, responsible American archery manufacturers that pay the 11% federal excise tax are losing business and state wildlife agencies that rely on FET funds to complete conservation projects are losing millions of unpaid FET dollars.
The ATA is tracking the issue and hopes to close the loophole in the FET System by working with Congress, The Government Accountability Office, and other key players, but the change will take time.
Other changes that may be on the horizon include adding airguns and other innovative outdoor recreation equipment to the list of FET taxable items. Some current legislation is also trying to redirect funds to benefit wildlife and wild places. For example, the “Tax Stamp Revenue Transfer for Wildlife and Recreation Act” bill was introduced in Congress on Nov. 9, 2023, and aims to redirect tax stamp revenue from the sale of suppressors (currently going into the general fund) to the P-R fund. If the bill is passed and signed, the FET fund would see an estimated annual $200 million increase for vital conservation efforts.
Changes like these would significantly increase the revenues generated through the P-R Act and, therefore, increase the funds available to state wildlife agencies to improve conservation and recruitment efforts across the state.
The ATA Works for You
For the P-R program to remain a sustainable conservation funding resource that benefits the industry and consumers alike, the ATA must stay engaged in protecting and defending its members’ financial contributions.
“We’re ensuring the FET process is fair and equitable,” Forster said. “We advocate on behalf of our members and check that the P-R program’s working smoothly, efficiently and effectively.”
The ATA has several educational articles and resources regarding federal excise taxes, including a comprehensive guide for manufacturers. The ATA also shares quarterly FET updates with its members so they can identify market trends and make data-driven business decisions. Visit the ATA’s FET page to learn more about the ATA’s FET resources.
If you have questions or concerns regarding federal excise taxes, please contact Dan Forster, ATA’s vice president and chief conservation officer, at (507) 233-8143 or danforster@archerytrade.org.
ATA Membership
In addition to FET benefits, ATA members can enjoy select educational content in the ATA’s Learning Center. Members can also reap the benefits of free member downloads for valuable resources like the ATA’s Quarterly Retail Trend Tracker survey. Visit www.archerytrade.org/membership to learn more.
Photos courtesy of Archery Trade Association
