Authorizing Fully Electronic Stamps

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, the duck stamp, or Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp is the only Federal conservation revenue stamp. This means 98 percent of the sale price is used to purchase conservation easements and to acquire wetland habitats for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The duck stamp also provides an opportunity to showcase wildlife art, with the Fish and Wildlife Service hosting an art competition each year, and a winning piece selected for next year's design.

Sportsmen and women, artists, and conservationists purchase duck stamps as a collectible to cover entry fees to any National Wildlife Refuge System unit, as a hunting license, or as a donation to conservation. Millions of stamps have been sold in recent years, contributing tens of millions of dollars toward conservation each year.

This bipartisan bill will modernize government stamp services by allowing online access to the Federal Duck Stamp. This improvement will save applicants and agency officials time and money and make it more accessible for hunters, conservationists, and collectors to purchase duck stamps and support wetland conservation. It is a good bill, and I am happy to support it.

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Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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