After review, DEMA’s PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED SUPPORTING THIS BILL and passed along their recommendation to the DEMA Board of Directors. On April 18, 2024, the DEMA Board signed and submitted a letter to Representative Donalds with thanks for assisting the recreational diving industry.

Learn more about DEMA's letter of support here.

 On July 26, Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) announced a broad-based national coalition of 107 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and endorsing organizations, in support of H.R. 5103 – The FISHES Act.

The bill seeks to improve federal regulatory processes associated with disaster relief funding fisheries.

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H.R. 5339 and S. 379 would alter current IRS regulations and allow certain expenses associated with obtaining or maintaining recognized post-secondary credentials (such as diving instructor certifications) to be treated as qualified higher education expenses for purposes of Qualified Tuition Programs (QTPs) also referred to as 529 college savings plans. The term ‘recognized postsecondary credential’ denotes “a credential consisting of an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a certificate of completion of an apprenticeship, a license recognized by the State involved or Federal Government, or an associate or baccalaureate degree.” 

529 Plans allow earnings to accumulate tax free while in the account, and the beneficiary isn’t generally required to include the 529 savings plan earnings as income. Distributions are not taxable when used to pay for qualified higher education expenses.

DEMA is supporting the passage of these bills because they will make it possible for those interested in pursuing professional credentials in the diving industry to use their QTPs to pay for professional certifications, renewals and even credential upgrades. Especially as so many have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, when signed into law, this legislation could encourage more persons in the U.S. to become diving professionals, encourage additional consumer certifications and increase equipment and travel sales.

What is DEMA Asking?

Write directly to your Senators and House Member and request they co-sponsor and support the appropriate bill.  You can reach out using a customized version of DEMA’s suggested letter template to model your comments and request support from your Senator or Member of Congress. You can locate your Representative and Senators by clicking on these links and typing in your zip code:  

• U.S. House of Representatives
• U.S. Senate

You can view DEMA’s letter to the House Leadership (we also wrote a similar letter to the Senate Leadership) here.

Thank you for your continuing support of DEMA and the Diving Industry!