To: ALL MEDIA
For immediate release

April 5, 2017

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Mike Bazinet
203-426-1320

NSSF Honors U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop
as 2016 Legislator of the Year

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) accept the 2016 Legislator of the Year awards from NSSF’s Larry Keane.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industries, awarded House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) a 2016 Legislator of the Year Award at the organization’s annual dinner in Washington, D.C., coinciding with the firearms industry’s annual Congressional Fly-In.

“We salute Chairman Bishop for his outstanding leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and on the Committee on Natural Resources, particularly for his tireless efforts to advance H.R. 2406, the SHARE Act, and we are honored to present him with the 2016 NSSF Legislator of the Year Award,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “The House passage of the SHARE Act aimed to ensure that our nation’s outdoor traditions are preserved, protected and promoted. This bipartisan legislation addressed many key priorities for American hunters and recreational shooters and its passage by the House represents a significant accomplishment for the sportsmen’s community and for America.”

The SHARE Act included a number of legislative priorities, including provisions that intended to protect the use of traditional ammunition and fishing tackle by hunters and anglers, as well as provided greater flexibility for states to use Pittman-Robertson funds to construct and maintain public shooting ranges as well as facilitate greater access to Federal lands and waters for hunting, fishing and recreational shooting.

In addition, the legislation included a common-sense provision that would have allowed for the adoption of state laws on water resources development projects administered by the Corps of Engineers. Finally, the legislation permanently authorized the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee to advise the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture on wildlife and habitat conservation, hunting and recreational shooting.

NSSF, along with a number of partner organizations, worked closely with House members to ensure inclusion of these priorities and ultimately, passage out of the House of Representatives. Representative Bishop’s steady leadership in shepherding this legislation was crucial in ensuring the Congress kept faith with sportsmen, hunters and recreational target shooters.

“When I am no longer a member of Congress, I want to look back and say that I left Washington, D.C., less powerful than I found it,” Chairman Bishop said. “Our efforts with the SHARE Act and other legislation were designed to accomplish that goal. Federal agencies too often arbitrarily restrict access to public lands. It is for Congress and the states to ensure that hunters, anglers, and shooters are able to count on reliable access to the lands they enjoy.”

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About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 12,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.