[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3189-S3190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. Levin, Ms. Collins, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
        Voinovich, and Ms. Stabenow):
  S. 536. A bill to establish the National Invasive Species Council, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join with Senators 
Levin, Collins, Reed, Voinovich, and Stabenow, to introduce the 
National Invasive Species Council Act--a bill to permanently establish 
the National Invasive Species Council. The National Invasive Species 
Council was established by an Executive order so that the Federal 
Government can better coordinate to combat the economic, ecologic, and 
health threat of invasive species.
  Invasive species are a national threat. Estimates of the annual 
economic damages caused by invasive species in this Nation are as high 
as $137 billion. To combat the serious threats posed by invasive 
species, we need Federal coordination and planning. Our bill would 
provide just that--on a permanent basis. Under this legislation, the 
Secretaries of State, Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health & 
Human Services, Interior, Defense, and Treasury, along with the 
Administrators of EPA and USAID, would continue to work together 
through the Council to develop a National Invasive Species Management 
Plan.
  Though the Council can continue to operate and develop invasive 
species management plans as they currently do, the GAO reported last 
year that implementing the national invasive species management plan is 
difficult because the Council does not have a congressional mandate to 
act. GAO also reported that most of the agencies that have 
responsibilities under the National Invasive Species Management Plan 
have been slow to complete activities by the due date established under 
the plan and the agencies do not always act in a coordinated manner. As 
my colleagues who are cosponsoring this bill know, invasive species are 
too great of a problem to be left unmanaged.
  The duties of the Council are generally to coordinate Federal 
activities in an effective, complementary, cost-efficient manner; 
update the National Invasive Species Management Plan; ensure that 
Federal agencies implement the management plan; and develop 
recommendations for international cooperation. Agencies that do not 
implement the recommendations of the National Invasive Species 
Management Plan must report to Congress as to why the recommendations 
were not implemented. The Council is directed to develop guidance for 
Federal agencies on prevention, control, and eradication of invasive 
species so that Federal programs and actions do not increase the risk 
of invasion or spread nonindigenous species. And finally, the bill also 
establishes an Invasive Species Advisory Committee to the Council.
  Ultimately, with a congressional mandate, the Council can enhance its 
effectiveness and better protect our environment from invasive species. 
I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this measure so that the Federal 
Government can improve its response to invasive species threat.

[[Page S3190]]

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the National 
Aquatic Invasive Species Act and the National Invasive Species Council 
Act. As a Senator representing a Great Lake State, I am proud to be an 
original cosponsor of both of these bills that are critical to the 
future of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
  In my 36 years of public service, one of my greatest sources of 
comfort and accomplishment has been my work to help clean up and 
protect the environment, particularly Lake Erie.
  Lake Erie's ecology has come a long way since I was elected to the 
state legislature in 1966. During that time, Lake Erie formed the 
northern border of my district and it was known worldwide as a dying 
lake, suffering from eutrophication. Lake Erie's decline was covered 
extensively by the media and became an international symbol of 
pollution and environmental degradation. I remember the British 
Broadcasting Company even sending a film crew to make a documentary 
about it. One reason for all the attention is that Lake Erie is a 
source of drinking water for 11 million people.
  Seeing firsthand the effects of pollution on Lake Erie and the 
surrounding region, I knew we had to do more to protect the environment 
for our children and grandchildren. As a State legislator, I made a 
commitment to stop the deterioration of the lake and to wage the 
``Second Battle of Lake Erie'' to reclaim and restore Ohio's Great 
Lake. I have continued this fight throughout my career as County 
Commissioner, state legislator, Mayor of Cleveland, Governor of Ohio, 
and United States Senator.
  It is comforting to me that 36 years since I started my career in 
public service, I am still involved, as a member of the United States 
Senate and our Committee on Environment and Public Works, in the battle 
to save Lake Erie.
  Today in Ohio, we celebrate Lake Erie's improved water quality. It is 
a habitat to countless species of wildlife, a vital resource to the 
area's tourism, transportation, and recreation industries, and the main 
source of drinking water for many Ohioans. Unfortunately, however, 
there is still a great deal that needs to be done to improve and 
protect Ohio's greatest natural asset.
  Our current enemy is the aquatic invasive species that threaten the 
health and viability of the Great Lakes fishery and ecosystem. I am 
worried about these aquatic terrorists in the ballast water that enter 
the Great Lakes system through boats from all over the world. These 
species are already wreaking havoc in the lakes and will continue to do 
so until they are stopped.
  Since the 1800s, over 145 invasive species have colonized in the 
Great Lakes. Since 1990, when legislation to address aquatic nuisance 
species was first enacted, we have averaged about one new invader each 
year. Clearly, we have not closed the door to invasive species. I am 
deeply troubled by the surge in new invasive species in Lake Erie, 
because once a species establishes itself, there is virtually no way to 
eliminate it.
  As Mayor of Cleveland in the 1980s, I was alarmed about the 
introduction of zebra mussels into the Great Lakes and conducted the 
first national meeting to investigate the problem. It is a complicated 
situation and we are still learning how invasive species like the zebra 
mussel affect the ecosystem.
  In early August, for example, I conducted a field hearing of the 
Environment and Public Works Committee to examine the increasingly 
extensive oxygen depletion or anoxia in the central basin of Lake Erie. 
This phenomenon has been referred to as a ``dead zone.'' Anoxia over 
the long term could result in massive fish kills, toxic algae blooms, 
and bad-tasting or bad-smelling water.
  Anoxia is usually the result of decaying algae blooms which consume 
oxygen at the bottom of the lake. In the past, excessive phosphorus 
loading from point sources such as municipal sewage treatment plants 
were greatly responsible for algae blooms. Since 1965, the level of 
phosphorus entering the Lake has been reduced by about 50 percent. 
These reductions have resulted in smaller quantities of algae and more 
oxygen into the system.
  In recent years, overall phosphorus levels in the Lake have been 
increasing, but the amount of phosphorus entering it has not. 
Scientists are unable to account for the increased levels of phosphorus 
in the Lake. One hypothesis is the influence of two aquatic nuisance 
species the zebra and quagga mussels. Although their influence is not 
well understood, they may be altering the way phosphorus cycles through 
the system.
  Another way zebra mussels could be responsible for oxygen depletion 
in Lake Erie is due to their ability to filter and clear vast 
quantities of lake water. Clearer water allows light to penetrate 
deeper into the Lake, encouraging additional organic growth on the 
bottom. When this organic material decays, it consumes oxygen.
  The possible link between Lake Erie's ``dead zone'' problem and 
aquatic nuisance species like the zebra mussel should underscore the 
importance of our legislation, the National Aquatic Nuisance Species 
Act. Over the last 30 years, we have made remarkable progress in 
improving water quality and restoring the natural resources of our 
Nation's aquatic areas, and we need to prevent any backsliding on this 
progress.
  While aquatic invasive species are a particular problem because they 
readily spread through interconnected waterways and are difficult to 
treat safely, they represent only one piece of the problem. Both 
terrestrial and aquatic invasive species cause significant economic and 
ecological damage throughout North America. Recent estimates state that 
invasive species cost the U.S. at least $138 billion per year and that 
42 percent of the species on the Threatened and Endangered Lists are at 
risk primarily due to invasive species.
  In 1999, President Clinton issued an Executive Order creating the 
National Invasive Species Council to develop a national management plan 
for invasive species and bring together the federal agencies 
responsible for managing them. This was a promising action that has 
never been fully implemented. The National Invasive Species Management 
Plan was issued in 2001, but agencies with responsibilities under the 
plan have been slow to complete activities by the established due dates 
and the agencies do not always act in a coordinated manner.
  The General Accounting Office released a report in October 2002 that 
claimed that implementing the Management Plan was being hampered by the 
lack of a congressional mandate for the Council. It is disturbing to me 
that this Council exists but is not making substantial progress. Make 
no mistake about it; these species are not waiting for the Federal 
Government to get all of its ducks in a row. They are continuing to 
take over the waters and lands of the U.S.
  The National Invasive Species Council Act will fix this problem by 
legislatively establishing the Council. Because timing is so important, 
I urge my colleagues to act quickly on both of these bills to ensure 
that the National Invasive Species Management Plan is updated and fully 
implemented.
  We must act quickly to strengthen the oversight of efforts preventing 
invasive species from wreaking havoc on the Great Lakes' aquatic 
habitat and throughout the U.S.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate 
to move these bills forward. I understand that both bills will be 
referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee today, and I 
look forward to working with Chairman Inhofe to move them expeditiously 
through committee.
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