SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 
Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 27, 2023] 
A BILL 
To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
of Agriculture from prohibiting the use of lead ammuni-
tion or tackle on certain Federal land or water under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Access for 
Hunters and Anglers Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTING ACCESS FOR HUNTERS AND ANGLERS 
ON FEDERAL LAND AND WATER. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 20.21 
or 20.108 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act), and subsection 
(b), the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Direc-
tor of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the 
Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 
Service (referred to in this section as the ‘‘applicable Sec-
retary’’), may not— 
(1) prohibit the use of lead ammunition or tackle 
on Federal land or water that is— 
(A) under the jurisdiction of the applicable 
Secretary; and 
(B) made available for hunting or fishing 
activities; or 
(2) issue regulations relating to the level of lead 
in ammunition or tackle to be used on Federal land 
or water described in paragraph (1). 
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(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to a 
prohibition or regulations described in that subsection that 
are limited to a specific unit of Federal land or water, if 
the applicable Secretary determines that— 
(1) a decline in wildlife population at the spe-
cific unit of Federal land or water is primarily 
caused by the use of lead in ammunition or tackle, 
based on the field data from the specific unit of Fed-
eral land or water; and 
(2) the prohibition or regulations, as applicable, 
are— 
(A) consistent with the law of the State in 
which the specific Federal land or water is lo-
cated; 
(B) consistent with an applicable policy of 
the fish and wildlife department of the State in 
which the specific Federal land or water is lo-
cated; or 
(C) approved by the applicable fish and 
wildlife department of the State in which the 
specific Federal land or water is located. 
(c) FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE.—The applicable Sec-
retary shall include in a Federal Register notice with re-
spect to any prohibition or regulations that meet the re-
quirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) an 
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explanation of how the prohibition or regulations, as appli-
cable, meet those requirements. 
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Union Calendar No. 164 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 615 
[Report No. 118–203, Part I] 
A BILL 
To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture from prohibiting the use 
of lead ammunition or tackle on certain Federal 
land or water under the jurisdiction of the Sec-
retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri-
culture, and for other purposes. 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 
Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 
an amendment 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the 
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 
Union and ordered to be printed 
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