H.R. 556, Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act

H.R. 566 would prohibit the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior from banning the use of lead hunting ammunition and fishing tackle or limiting the amount of lead in those items on property under their jurisdiction. That prohibition would not apply at a specific location if the agency determines that lead ammunition or tackle is the primary cause of a decline in wildlife in that location.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (part of the Department of the Interior) has promulgated station-specific prohibitions and phase outs of lead ammunition but has not applied them nationwide. Based on the costs of similar activities, CBO estimates that it would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026-2030 period to implement H.R. 566, including reviewing the current prohibitions and phase-outs. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Under current law, ammunition sales are taxed at a rate of 11 percent of the sales price, and those revenues are deposited into the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund and can be spent without further appropriation for wildlife restoration, conservation, and hunter education and safety. If enacting the bill increases sales of ammunition overall, revenues would increase. But, to the extent hunters substitute less expensive lead ammunition for more expensive alternatives, revenues would decline. Thus, CBO cannot determine the magnitude nor the direction of the effect on revenues and the consequent direct spending.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The estimate was H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.