4/13/2001
-
Article/Press
Release
SENATE
ORGANIZES BOATING CAUCUS
CHICAGO
- - Long-time boating industry supporter Senator John Breaux (D-LA)
and Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) have established a boating caucus in
the United States Senate. The
two senators will co-chair the new caucus.
This
is the first boating caucus in the Senate.
One has been active in the House since 1989, and today
consists of about 90 members. The
caucus is set up to be a bipartisan group focused on issues
affecting boating, recreation and the marine industry.
Its members support protection of the environment, promotion
of international trade and the protection of access rights to the
national waterways.
“Senator
Breaux is a true champion of the boating industry.
He was instrumental in repealing the infamous luxury tax in
the early 1990s and then repealed the dyed diesel fuel tax boaters
were paying at the pumps. While a member of the House, he teamed up
with Senator Malcolm Wallop to create what is now the Wallop/Breaux
Trust Fund, which funds boating safety programs and fishing
activities,” says Kelly Rote-Bobek, NMMA director of
Government Relations.
Breaux
is also an avid supporter of boating safety, and was recently
recognized with the National Safe Boating Council’s 2000 Boating
Safety Hall of Fame Award.
“An
important priority for the Senate Boating Caucus will be to increase
public awareness of the need for boating safety so enjoyable
recreational experiences don’t end in tragedy,” says Breaux.
Thompson
began his senatorial career in 1994, and currently sits on the
Senate Finance Committee and the International Trade Subcommittee.
Thompson has worked diligently to promote equitable international
trade for U.S. manufacturers,
which has benefited the boating industry.
“The
boating industry is critically important to Tennessee, both because
of our many rivers and lakes, and because of the many boating
manufacturers located there. I
look forward to working with Senator Breaux and the other members of
the Senate Boating Caucus to promote issues important to boaters and
the recreational boating industry.”
NMMA
is asking the public to ask their senators to join the Senate
Boating Caucus. For
information, contact Rote-Bobek in NMMA’s Washington, DC office at
(202) 721-1608; krote@nmma.org.
NMMA
members, more than 1,400 companies, produce approximately 80% of the
marine products used by recreational boaters and anglers in the
United States. The
North American pleasure boat market represents fully half of the
global demand for these products and services.
Retail sales of boats and related products and services
amount to an estimated $25 billion annually in the U.S.
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