H.R. 556

Summary

H.R. 556, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, was introduced in the House on Jan 16, 2025 by Rep. Robert Wittman (R) with 83 co-sponsors. It was referred to Environment And Public Works, and last saw action on Mar 19, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Record

Text

H.R. 556 has 83 co-sponsors, 2 roll calls and 1 amendment.

119 HR 556 EH: Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 IB
 119th CONGRESS  2d Session
 H. R. 556
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 AN ACT
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 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act  .
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 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service (referred to in this section as the  applicable Secretary ), 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).
(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 specific 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 Federal 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 located;
(B)
consistent with an applicable policy of the fish and wildlife department of the State in which the specific Federal land or water is located; 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 Secretary shall include in a Federal Register notice with respect to any prohibition or regulations that meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) an explanation of how the prohibition or regulations, as applicable, meet those requirements.
      Passed the House of Representatives March 18, 2026.  Kevin F. McCumber,  Clerk.

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Sponsors

Rep. Robert Wittman (R) sponsors H.R. 556, and 83 members have co-sponsored it, 41 of them from the day it was introduced.

Robert Wittman

Rep. · R–VA-1 · Sponsor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025

Troy Balderson

Rep. · R–OH-12 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Aaron Bean

Rep. · R–FL-4 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Jack Bergman

Rep. · R–MI-1 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Andy Biggs

Rep. · R–AZ-5 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Lauren Boebert

Rep. · R–CO-4 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Mike Bost

Rep. · R–IL-12 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Ken Calvert

Rep. · R–CA-41 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Earl Carter

Rep. · R–GA-1 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

Ben Cline

Rep. · R–VA-6 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 16, 2025 · Original

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Committees

H.R. 556 went before 4 committees: Environment and Public Works, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee.

Environment and Public Works

Environment and Public Works

Referred To · Mar 19, 2026 · 257 Bills

Agriculture

Agriculture

Discharged From · Nov 25, 2025 · 226 Bills

Natural Resources

Natural Resources

Reported By · Nov 25, 2025 · 395 Bills

Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee

Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee

Referred to · Feb 20, 2025 · 45 Bills

Reports

1 committee report has been filed on H.R. 556, the latest H. Rept. 119-385.

• H. Rept. 119-385 — PROTECTING ACCESS FOR HUNTERS AND ANGLERS ACT

Actions

H.R. 556 has taken 22 actions since Jan 16, 2025, the latest on Mar 19, 2026.

Votes

H.R. 556 went to 2 roll calls in the House, the latest on Mar 18, 2026 at 215–202.

Amendments

1 amendment has been offered to H.R. 556, the latest acted on Mar 18, 2026.

HAMDT 169Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 1115, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources printed in the bill, is considered adopted.Mar 18, 2026 · On agreeing to the Rules amendment (A001) Agreed to without objection.

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Related bills

2 bills are related to H.R. 556.

HRES 1115Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 556) 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 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1958) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify that aliens who have been convicted of defrauding the United States Government or the unlawful receipt of public benefits are inadmissible and deportable; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4638) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien who has been convicted of harming animals used in law enforcement is inadmissible and deportable, and for other purposes; and relating to consideration of motions to suspend the rules.Mar 17, 2026 · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. · Related billS 537Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025Feb 12, 2025 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. · Identical bill

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Titles

H.R. 556 goes by 7 titles, 4 of them short titles.

• Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act — Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
• Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act — Short Title(s) as Passed House
• 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 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes. — Official Titles from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
• Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act — Display Title
• Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act — Short Title(s) as Reported to House
• Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025 — Short Title(s) as Introduced
• 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 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes. — Official Title as Introduced

Cost estimate

The Congressional Budget Office has filed 1 estimate for H.R. 556, the latest on Jan 14, 2026.

• H.R. 556, Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act — 2026-01-14As reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on November 25,2025

Lobbying

9 clients hired 9 firms and 66 registered lobbyists who named H.R. 556 in 37 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Firearms/Guns/Ammunition, Budget/Appropriations, Natural Resources, Animals, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities, Law Enforcement/Crime/Criminal Justice, Veterans.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill. The 20 named most often, of 66.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.R. 556 under Public Lands and Natural Resources, one of its 31 policy areas, and gives it 5 legislative subjects.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.R. 556’s is Public Lands and Natural Resources.

Legislative Subjects

H.R. 556 carries 5 of CRS’s legislative subjects, from Hazardous wastes and toxic substances to Wildlife conservation and habitat protection.

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.R. 556, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. WITTMAN:H.R. 556.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1, Section 8[Page H223]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com