138 



Recreation 



Vehicle 



Industry 



Association 





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1896 Pteilon While Dt 



Reslon, VA 22090 0999 



703/6206003 



Fox 703/620 507 1 



June 5, 1996 



STATEMENT OF THE RECREATION VEHICLE INDUSTRY 



ASSOCIATION 



ON THE TEAMING WITH WILDLIFE PROPOSAL 



Before the 



HOUSE RESOURCES SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, 

 WILDLIFE AND OCEANS 



The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) is the 

 national trade association representing the manufacturers of recreation 

 vehicles (motorhomes, travel trailers, truck campers and folding 

 camping trailers) and their related suppliers. Its members account for 

 over 98% of the production of such vehicles in the United States. 

 RVIA submits this statement for the record on the Teaming With 

 Wildlife proposal as before the House Resources Subcommittee on 

 Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans. 



RVIA enthusiastically supports wildlife management programs 

 at the federal and state levels, yet we believe the Teaming With 

 Wildlife proposal is inappropriate and inequitable. In particular, we 

 oppose the imposition of any special excise tax to fund non-game fish 

 and wildlife programs when the tax bears no relation to the cost of 

 services provided. We fail to understand the conclusion that buyers of 

 high-ticket items such as recreation vehicles (RVs) are more direct 

 beneficiaries of wildlife management programs than the public at large. 



While it is relatively easy to determine the beneficiaries of game 

 fish and wildlife programs and thereby tax the users for their 

 maintenance, the direct beneficiaries of non-game fish and wildlife 

 programs are not so easily determinable. Nature lovers, bird-watchers, 

 young children, senior citizens, and scientists are only a few which 

 could be mentioned; in reality, the nation as a whole and every citizen 

 could be seen to benefit from the programs. Congress has reached the 

 same conclusion and has declared "[f]ish and wildlife are pf ecological, 

 educational, esthetic, cultural, recreational, economic and scientific 

 value to the Nation." (16 USCS Section 2901 (a)(1)). There is no 

 apparent correlation between RV use and any special responsibility for 

 non-game wildlife management, and because of the many faceted uses 

 of RVs, it is unreasonable to assume that an RV purchase by itself 

 constitutes the buyer a special beneficiary of the program. This is true 

 of many of the products to be taxed by the proposal. Moreover, the 

 Teaming With Wildlife proposal does not provide for any funding 

 from parties involved in ecological, educational, esthetic, cultural, 

 economic, or scientific pursuits. 



