The Senate environment committee passed legislation for hunters and anglers Wednesday, prompting the outrage of the panel’s lead Democrat, who is vowing to block the bill on the floor.
The bill, the Bipartisan Sportsmen Act, passed by a 12-8 recorded voice vote in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The bill does a few things to stoke the ire of the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, and many other in the party who failed to block what they called “poison pills.”
First, it exempts lead from being treated as hazardous under the Toxic Substances Control Act to ensure that lead weights used by fishermen are not banned from use in rivers and streams.
Boxer had tried to guilt Republicans into including a lead ban in the bill at Wednesday’s markup of the bill, citing the scandal in Flint, Mich., over its lead-contaminated water.
“I am shocked today that following the scandal in Flint, Michigan, where children have been poisoned by lead in the drinking water, a Republican majority on the [environment] committee voted to permanently exempt lead and other contaminants in fishing tackle from any regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act,” Boxer said after the bill was passed out of committee.
She also lashed out at Republicans for including a measure to block the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring permits when pesticides are sprayed over water, she said.
“Taken together, these provisions are much more than just a poke in the eye to people, but are defiant acts toward American families who expect their country to protect them from poisons like pesticides that can harm the nervous system, impact the development of children and even cause cancer, and lead that can cause irreversible brain damage,” Boxer said.
During Wednesday morning’s markup of the bill, she also protested the inclusion of an amendment by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., to de-list the threatened gray wolf from the Endangered Species List. Boxer said the Barrasso measure runs counter to court precedent. Barrasso said the amendment prevents additional court action so that his states and others can manage their wolf populations without the interference of the federal government.
“This amendment is one of many legislative efforts I will continue to pursue until Wyoming’s wolf management plan is protected and fully implemented,” he said.
But Boxer remains adamant. “Unless the poison pills are dropped, I will do everything in my power to prevent this legislation from reaching the Senate floor,” she said. “And if it does reach the Senate floor, I will do everything I can to stop it from becoming law.”
