Sponsors (4)
The bill improves timeliness and predictability of conservation funding by clarifying DOI authority to distribute interest, but that benefit comes with the trade-off of potential earlier federal outlays and the risk of funding shortfalls if apportionments are delayed past FY2033.
State fish and wildlife agencies will receive more timely and predictable funding because the Interior Department is given clearer authority to distribute interest earnings and apportion funds earlier, enabling wildlife restoration and hunter-access projects to proceed with better budget certainty.
Taxpayers and the federal budget could face earlier or increased outlays if interest earnings are released sooner, reducing funds available for other federal priorities in the near term.
If apportionment of funds is delayed beyond FY2033, state wildlife programs could face funding shortfalls and project delays, undermining the very conservation and access projects the bill aims to support.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Modifies the statutory timing/conditions for when interest in the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund becomes available for state apportionment under the Pittman–Robertson Act.
Official title: To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to provide that interest on obligations held in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund shall become available for apportionment at the beginning of fiscal year 2033.
Introduced March 25, 2025 by Jeff Hurd · Last progress November 25, 2025
Amends federal law governing the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund (Pittman–Robertson Act) by changing the text that determines when interest credited to the Fund "shall become available for apportionment". The bill replaces the existing language that makes those interest amounts available at the beginning of fiscal year 2033 with new, unspecified text, thereby altering the timing or conditions for when those interest funds can be distributed to states. If the inserted language changes the fiscal year or conditions, it would shift when states receive apportionments from interest credited to the Fund and could advance or delay funding available to state wildlife agencies, impacting planning and programs that rely on Pittman–Robertson apportionments.