WASHINGTON — Spent ammunition and lost fishing tackle leach their lead into soil and water, flowing up the food chain into animals and humans.
Legislation that passed the House would allow hunters and fishermen to use bullets and tackle that contains lead, a toxic element linked to brain damage, and bar the federal departments of Interior and Agriculture from regulating their use.
The chamber voted 215-202, almost entirely on party lines, for the bill (H.R. 556), with Republicans in favor and Democrats against. New Jersey Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) and Chris Smith (R-4th) voted for the bill.
New Jersey’s third Republican, Tom Kean Jr., did not vote.
Congressional debate on the bill comes as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection faces a petition from animal-welfare organizations to ban lead-based ammunition for hunting.
In January, two groups, Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, filed a petition with the agency, pressing it to “act to put an end to the needless use of lead bullets by hunters in the state of New Jersey.”
Once in the environment, lead remains for decades, filtering into the food chain once plants absorb it. When scavengers ingest lead-tainted meat — perhaps a bird or deer carcass — they can pass lead toxicity to predators.
About 95% of hunters use lead ammunition, according to a 2023 study by The Wildlife Society.
“Unlike other types of ammunition, lead bullets fragment into thousands of tiny pieces on impact,” according to research from the University of Pennsylvania medical school. “Even after this meat is processed and cooked, tiny lead fragments too small to be noticed while eating remain in the meat.”
The Obama administration moved to phase out all lead-based bullets or fishing tackle, including hooks and weights, in federal lands. Authorities months into the first Trump administration reversed that decision.
In 2022, the Biden administration proposed a more piecemeal approach — a phase-out in 10 wildlife refuges. That effort fizzled after state officials in West Virginia objected.
Passing a federal preemptive ban against regulating lead ammunition and fishing gear has been a long-running objective of hunting and angling groups.
“By preventing executive overreach in the future, this legislation is critical to preserving access for sportsmen and women who rely on traditional lead fishing tackle and ammunition, and it reinforces the use of sound science in decision-making,” Rob Wittman, a Republican congressman from Virginia who is the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement after his bill passed.
Lead-free ammunition has been used for decades after the Fish and Wildlife Service banned lead bullets for waterfowl hunting in 1991.
“Long ago, we took steps to eliminate lead from fuel, paint and other products, so why would we tolerate its indiscriminate scattering on our nation’s parklands and waterways?” Kitty Block, president and chief executive officer of Humane World for Animals, said in a statement after the bill passed.
In recent years, lead pipe remediation projects have been common earmarks — federal money for local projects — from New Jersey’s congressional delegation.
