S.724 Corrective Action Planned in House
Senate 724, (S.724), a bill to exempt hobby rocketry propellant from regulation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives, has been introduced into the United States Senate by Sen. Michael Enzi. The NAR is supporting this bill and
trying to insure that NAR members are aware of its status as it makes its way through the Congress. These messages are
supplied by the NAR's legislative liasion, John Kyte, and will be posted here as we receive information on significant
developments.
The Hatch-Kohl substitute to S 724 that was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week has raised new issues in need of further attention, and there is a clear need for a variety of fixes and further adjustments going forward.
It appears at this time that the best opportunity to make such corrections and adjustments will be in the drafting of a House bill. This is so because the best path for passage of a rocketry bill in the Senate in this session of Congress is to move the existing bill to the Senate floor under Unanimous Consent (UC). UC is a Senate process under which a bill comes to the floor with major support and can pass very quickly without the opportunity for amendment. This approach is advantageous when concerns exist about a bill being attacked and/or adversely amended on the floor, a situation that exists with regard to the Hatch-Kohl S 724 substitute.
The other side of that coin is that there is little likelihood that this bill could be amended in a positive manner (such as a return to the Enzi bill as introduced, for example) and still pass on the Senate floor, so opening it up to the amendment process is very risky and could result in the bill being killed. If the bill is killed in the Senate, that action will severely harm efforts to develop a companion bill in the House. This does not mean we are giving up on the Senate, but that we are awaiting further advice on how TRA and NAR can best be supportive of Sen. Enzi and other supporters in the Senate, while at the same time moving ahead on a complementary path in the House.
On the House side, we are working very closely with staff from several Members' offices who are keen to introduce a bill, but who want to draft a bill carefully so that it fixes the problems that existed previously as well as the problems created by the Hatch-Kohl substitute. We will be directly involved in helping draft a House bill for introduction. The end goal would be to get a solid bill through the House with strong votes in Committee and on the Floor, then have the Senate adopt the House bill in conference. This is not an easy or guaranteed path because we will have to work closely with Rep. Sensenbrenner, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, as well as Sens. Hatch and Kohl who will likely be conferees, but it is the path that makes the most sense at this time.
We will soon be briefing the House Members to ensure they understand the technical and political issues involved, and we are developing a list of items in need of correction for inclusion in a House bill. At the right time, and perhaps several times, we will be calling on the support of TRA and NAR members to help continue educating House Members.
IMPORTANT: It is NOT necessary or helpful for members to take action at this time.
As John passes further developments along, I'll post them here.
To see the current detailed status of S.724, click here.
As always, you can send me your comments via email, or mail them to me at
Mark Bundick
1350 Lilac Lane
Carol Stream, IL
60188-3369