WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today announced that the Senate has passed legislation he authored to create a nationwide electronic duck stamp.

“Utilizing technology makes obtaining a duck stamp more efficient and cost-effective for everyone,” Wicker said. “In addition to the convenience it provides to sportsmen, this proposal is important to conservation efforts, helping preserve both our country’s natural beauty and outdoors traditions.”

Wicker’s bill allows hunters to obtain a federal duck stamp electronically at no additional cost to the government.  A trial of this program was successful in simplifying and expediting the duck stamp process in several states.  The measure makes the electronic duck stamp available in all 50 states and directs the funds to a variety of conservation projects.

The “Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013,” S.738, is cosponsored by Senators Thad Cochran, R-Miss., John Boozman, R-Ark., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Chris Coons, D-Del., James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark.

The House version of the bill, H.R. 1206, was sponsored by Rep. Rob Wittman, R.-Va., and passed in the House by a vote of 401-0.

The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent and now awaits President Obama’s signature.

The Senate has also passed another measure sponsored by Wicker. The “Merchant Marine Academy Improvements Act of 2014,” S. 2983, would enable the Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Foundation to donate private funds for capital improvements to Melville Hall, home to the Officer’s Club on the Academy’s grounds.