The House is scheduled to consider H.R. 3433 on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. H.R. 3433 was introduced on July 30, 2009, by Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA) and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, which held a mark-up and reported the bill, as amended, by unanimous consent on September 30, 2009.
H.R. 3433 would allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to accept Canadian funds for non-federal matching contributions required for projects under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA).
In 1986, a joint waterfowl effort between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico resulted in all three countries signing the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. In 1989, Congress passed the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), authorizing funds for grants in Mexico and Canada for waterfowl conservation projects. These federal funds require a non-federal 50 percent match for the cost of the program. In 2006, the authorization for the program was extended at a level of $75 million annually. Under current law, contributions for the non-federal matching funds from Mexico are allowed to count but those from Canada are not. H.R. 3433 would allow Canada to use an equal amount of non-U.S. currency to pay the matching fund requirement for projects that occur in Canada.
According to CBO, H.R. 3433 would "not affect the federal budget."
