Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today reintroduced the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act to provide responsible incentives for creating and maintaining public shooting ranges.
“Hunting and target shooting are an important part of Colorado’s Western heritage and outdoor economy,” Bennet said. “Providing states more flexibility to develop shooting ranges gives sportsmen new opportunities for target practice and boosts the outdoor recreation economy.”
“West Virginians have a proud hunting heritage and a strong interest in shooting sports, both for recreational and economic purposes,” Capito said. “This bipartisan legislation—which I’m glad to reintroduce today—provides a responsible way to improve cooperation at the federal, state, and local levels to create and maintain shooting ranges while also encouraging their continued use.”
Opportunities for Americans to safely engage in recreational and competitive shooting have declined on both public and private lands in recent years. Currently, under the Pittman-Robertson Act, funds can only be used to pay 75 percent of the cost of building or operating a public target range and states only have two years to access allotted funds.
The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act would allow 90 percent of those funds to be used for public target ranges and give states the authority to retain funding for five years, instead of two. States also have the option to use the funds to pay to acquire land, expand existing facilities, and construct new public facilities.
Bennet first introduced the legislation in March 2015. The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
A summary of the legislation is available HERE.