{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=e2f4a1ec-14c2-44a1-b736-99e1719cf25f", "Manchin Applauds Bipartisan Passage of Sportsmen's Act of 2015", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "November 19, 2015\n\t\t\t Manchin Applauds Bipartisan Passage of Sportsmen's Act of 2015 \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Legislation will increase public lands access for sportsmen and promote West Virginias outdoor recreation economy\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Washington, D.C.  U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmens Caucus and member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, today applauded the bipartisan passage of the Sportsmens Act of 2015. The legislation will enhance hunting, fishing and recreational shooting opportunities by increasing access to federal lands. It also includes the permanent authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The bill passed the ENR Committee by a voice vote.\r\nAs a lifelong, avid sportsman, I know firsthand that our hunting, fishing and outdoor heritage is so important to who we are as West Virginians and as Americans, Senator Manchin said. In West Virginia, its a family affair and an opportunity to pass along, from one generation to another, a deep and lasting appreciation for all the outdoors have to offer. I believe that we should protect these traditions that help define who we are. This bipartisan bill will boost West Virginias economy while expanding hunting and fishing rights and allowing people a greater ability to enjoy the outdoors.\r\nTo review a section-by-section of the Sportsmens Act of 2015, please click here.\r\nSenator Manchin delivered remarks at the ENR Committee hearing on the bill. For a video of his remarks, please click here.\r\nSenator Manchins remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:\r\nAs an avid sportsman, I believe that hunting and fishing are an integral part of the American culture and a powerful force of good protecting and preserving the natural world around us.\r\nIn West Virginia, its a family affair and an opportunity to pass along  from one generation to another  a deep and lasting appreciation for all the outdoors have to offer.\r\nOne of my top priorities is to make sure that the people I represent can carry on that tradition by ensuring they have access to hunting, fishing and recreational shooting on our nations public lands.\r\nIn my home state, we have more than 1.6 million acres of public land open to hunting with 28 shooting ranges on these lands.\r\nWe have a year-round fishing season, with more than 20,000 miles of streams and more than 100 public fishing lakes.\r\nBut this is about more than heritage and family tradition  hunting and fishing are big business in the Mountain State.\r\nIn 2011 alone, sportsmen and women spent $870 million on hunting and fishing in West Virginia and paid $81 million in state and local taxes.\r\nTitle II of this bill establishes an important precedent that seems pretty common sense to me  Federal land should be open to hunting and fishing, within existing laws, unless there is a reason for it not to be.\r\nNothing in the bill opens any sensitive areas that are already closed to these activities.\r\nIt merely establishes the precedent that our public lands should be open to the public so that people can enjoy them.\r\nI think its a shame that we all too often get caught up in debates between environmentalists and sportsmen  both of whom want to preserve and protect the great outdoors.\r\nGale Norton, Secretary of the Department of the Interior under President George W. Bush, once said:\r\nDating back to Teddy Roosevelt, hunters have been the pillar of conservation in America, doing more than anyone to conserve wildlife and its habitat.\r\nIm a firm believer that introducing someone to the great outdoors through hunting and fishing is one of the easiest and most effective ways to show them why conservation matters.\r\nI was also very pleased to see that the permanent authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was included in this bill.\r\nIn West Virginia, LWCF has helped maintain and expand access to some of our States natural treasures for the benefit of all.\r\nAccess projects funded by LWCF, in places like the Monongahela National Forest, Canaan Valley, and the Gauley River, not only keep public lands public for sportsmen, but also promote West Virginias thriving and growing outdoor recreation economy.\r\nA Section 6 habitat grant was the centerpiece of a project up in Cheat Canyon that leveraged state, local, and private funds to protect another incredible river that provides outdoor recreation in the northern part of the state.\r\nA different type of grant protected key battlefield areas around Harpers Ferry last year. \r\nThe permanent reauthorization of the LWCF is another one of my top priorities, and I commend my colleagues for working together, across partisan lines, to include it in this bill.\r\nFor the past two Congresses, we have tried and failed to pass a Sportsmens package through the Senate despite strong bipartisan support.\r\nI commend Senator Murkowski and Senator Heinrich for their leadership on the Bipartisan Sportsmens Act this Congress, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=e2f4a1ec-14c2-44a1-b736-99e1719cf25f"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3985990080982447, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}