[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 119 (Tuesday, September 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7686-H7689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BROWN TREE SNAKE CONTROL AND ERADICATION ACT OF 2004
Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 3479) to provide for the control and eradication of the
brown tree snake on the island of Guam and the prevention of the
introduction of the brown tree snake to other areas of the United
States, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3479
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Brown Tree Snake Control and
Eradication Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Brown tree snake.--The term ``brown tree snake'' means
the species of the snake Boiga irregularis.
(2) Compact of free association.--The term ``Compact of
Free Association'' means the Compacts of Free Association
entered into between the United States and the governments of
the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, as approved by and contained in Public Law
108-188 (117 Stat. 2720; 48 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.), and the
Compact of Free Association entered into between the United
States and the government of the Republic of Palau, as
approved by and contained in Public Law 99-658 (100 Stat.
3673; 48 U.S.C. 1931 et seq.).
(3) Freely associated states.--The term ``Freely Associated
States'' means the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of
Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
(4) Introduction.--The terms ``introduce'' and
``introduction'' refer to the expansion of the brown tree
snake outside of the range where this species is endemic.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' means--
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to matters
under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior; and
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to matters
under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture.
(6) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means both the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture.
(7) Technical working group.--The term ``Technical Working
Group'' means Brown Tree Snake Technical Working Group
established under the authority of section 1209 of the
Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of
1990 (16 U.S.C. 4728).
(8) Territorial.--The term ``territorial'', when used to
refer to a government, means the Government of Guam, the
Government of American Samoa, and the Government of the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as
autonomous agencies and instrumentalities of such a
government.
(9) United states.--The term ``United States'', when used
in the geographic sense, means the several States, the
District of Colombia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, any other possession
of the United States, and any waters within the jurisdiction
of the United States.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEED FOR IMPROVED AND
BETTER COORDINATED FEDERAL POLICY FOR BROWN
TREE SNAKE INTRODUCTION, CONTROL, AND
ERADICATION.
It is the sense of Congress that there exists a need for
improved and better coordinated control, interdiction,
research, and eradication of the brown tree snake on the part
of the United States and other interested parties.
SEC. 4. BROWN TREE SNAKE CONTROL, INTERDICTION, RESEARCH AND
ERADICATION.
(a) Funding Authority.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations to carry out this section, the Secretaries
shall provide funds to support brown tree snake control,
interdiction, research, and eradication efforts carried out
by the Department of the Interior and the Department of
Agriculture, other Federal agencies, States, territorial
governments, local governments, and private sector entities.
Funds may be provided through grants, contracts, reimbursable
agreements, or other legal mechanisms available to the
Secretaries for the transfer of Federal funds.
(b) Authorized Activities.--Brown tree snake control,
interdiction, research, and eradication efforts authorized by
this section shall include at a minimum the following:
(1) Expansion of science-based eradication and control
programs in Guam to reduce the undesirable impact of the
brown tree snake in Guam and reduce the risk of the
introduction or spread of any brown tree snake to areas in
the United States and the Freely Associated States in which
the brown tree snake is not established.
(2) Expansion of interagency and intergovernmental rapid
response teams in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Hawaii, and the Freely Associated States to
assist the governments of such areas with detecting the brown
tree snake and incipient brown tree snake populations.
(3) Expansion of efforts to protect and restore native
wildlife in Guam or elsewhere in the United States damaged by
the brown tree snake.
(4) Establishment and sustained funding for an Animal Plant
and Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Operations
Program State Office located in Hawaii dedicated to
vertebrate pest management in Hawaii and United States
Pacific territories and possessions. Concurrently, the Animal
Plant and Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services
Operations Program shall establish and sustain funding for a
District Office in Guam dedicated to brown tree snake control
and managed by the Hawaii State Office.
(5) Continuation, expansion, and provision of sustained
research funding related to the brown tree snake, including
research conducted at institutions located in areas affected
by the brown tree snake.
(6) Continuation, expansion, and provision of sustained
research funding for the Animal Plant and Health Inspection
Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center
of the Department of Agriculture related to the brown tree
snake, including the establishment of a field station in Guam
related to the control and eradication of the brown tree
snake.
(7) Continuation, expansion, and provision of sustained
research funding for the Fort Collins Science Center of the
United States Geological Survey related to the brown tree
snake, including the establishment of a field station in Guam
related to the control and eradication of the brown tree
snake.
(8) Expansion of long-term research into chemical,
biological, and other control techniques that could lead to
large-scale reduction of brown tree snake populations in Guam
or other areas where the brown tree snake might become
established.
(9) Expansion of short, medium, and long-term research,
funded by all Federal agencies interested in or affected by
the brown tree snake, into interdiction, detection, and early
control of the brown tree snake.
(10) Provision of planning assistance for the construction
or renovation of centralized multi-agency facilities in Guam
to support Federal, State, and territorial brown tree snake
control, interdiction, research and eradication efforts,
including office space, laboratory space, animal holding
facilities, and snake detector dog kennels.
(11) Provision of technical assistance to the Freely
Associated States on matters related to the brown tree snake
through the mechanisms contained within a Compact of Free
Association dealing with environmental, quarantine, economic,
and human health issues.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretaries to carry out this
section (other than subsection (b)(10)) the following
amounts:
(1) For activities conducted through the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Operations, not
more than $2,600,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006
through 2010.
(2) For activities conducted through the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National
Wildlife Research Center, Methods Development, not more than
$1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
(3) For activities conducted through the Office of Insular
Affairs, not more than $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2006 through 2010.
(4) For activities conducted through the Fish and Wildlife
Service, not more than $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2006 through 2010.
(5) For activities conducted through the United States
Geological Survey, Biological Resources, not more than
$1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
(d) Planning Assistance.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary
[[Page H7687]]
of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior such amounts
as may be required to carry out subsection (b)(10).
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS TO CONTROL THE
INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF THE BROWN TREE
SNAKE.
(a) Establishment of Quarantine Protocols.--Not later than
two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, but
subject to the memorandum of agreement required by subsection
(b) with respect to Guam, the Secretaries shall establish and
cause to be operated at Federal expense a system of pre-
departure quarantine protocols for cargo and other items
being shipped from Guam and any other United States location
where the brown tree snake may become established to prevent
the introduction or spread of the brown tree snake. The
Secretaries shall establish the quarantine protocols system
by regulation. Under the quarantine protocols system, Federal
quarantine, natural resource, conservation, and law
enforcement officers and inspectors may enforce State and
territorial laws regarding the illegal transportation,
possession, or introduction of any brown tree snake.
(b) Cooperation and Consultation.--The activities of the
Secretaries under subsection (a) shall be carried out in
cooperation with other Federal agencies and the appropriate
State and territorial quarantine, natural resource,
conservation, and law enforcement officers. In the case of
Guam, as a precondition on the establishment of the system of
pre-departure quarantine protocols under such subsection, the
Secretaries shall enter into a memorandum of agreement with
the Government of Guam to obtain the assistance and
cooperation of the Government of Guam in establishing the
system of pre-departure quarantine protocols.
(c) Implementation.--The system of pre-departure quarantine
protocols to be established under subsection (a) shall not be
implemented until funds are specifically appropriated for
that purpose.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section the following
amounts:
(1) To the Secretary of Agriculture, not more than
$3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
(2) To the Secretary of the Interior, not more than
$1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010.
SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF BROWN TREE SNAKES AS NONMAILABLE MATTER.
A brown tree snake constitutes nonmailable matter under
section 3015 of title 39, United States Code.
SEC. 7. ROLE OF BROWN TREE SNAKE TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP.
(a) Purpose.--The Technical Working Group shall ensure that
Federal, State, territorial, and local agency efforts
concerning the brown tree snake are coordinated, effective,
complementary, and cost-effective.
(b) Specific Duties and Activities.--The Technical Working
Group shall be responsible for the following:
(1) The evaluation of Federal, State, and territorial
activities, programs and policies that are likely to cause or
promote the introduction or spread of the brown tree snake in
the United States or the Freely Associated States and the
preparation of recommendations for governmental actions to
minimize the risk of introduction or further spread of the
brown tree snake.
(2) The preparation of recommendations for activities,
programs, and policies to reduce and eventually eradicate the
brown tree snake in Guam or other areas within the United
States where the snake may be established and the monitoring
of the implementation of those activities, programs, and
policies.
(3) Any revision of the Brown Tree Snake Control Plan,
originally published in June 1996, which was prepared to
coordinate Federal, State, territorial, and local government
efforts to control, interdict, eradicate or conduct research
on the brown tree snake.
(c) Reporting Requirement.--
(1) Report.--Subject to the availability of appropriations
for this purpose, the Technical Working Group shall prepare a
report describing--
(A) the progress made toward a large-scale population
reduction or eradication of the brown tree snake in Guam or
other sites that are infested by the brown tree snake;
(B) the interdiction and other activities required to
reduce the risk of introduction of the brown tree snake or
other nonindigenous snake species in Guam, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, American Samoa, and
the Freely Associated States;
(C) the applied and basic research activities that will
lead to improved brown tree snake control, interdiction and
eradication efforts conducted by Federal, State, territorial,
and local governments; and
(D) the programs and activities for brown tree snake
control, interdiction, research and eradication that have
been funded, implemented, and planned by Federal, State,
territorial, and local governments.
(2) Priorities.--The Technical Working Group shall include
in the report a list of priorities, ranked in high, medium,
and low categories, of Federal, State, territorial, and local
efforts and programs in the following areas:
(A) Control.
(B) Interdiction.
(C) Research.
(D) Eradication.
(3) Assessments.--Technical Working Group shall include in
the report the following assessments:
(A) An assessment of current funding shortfalls and future
funding needs to support Federal, State, territorial, and
local government efforts to control, interdict, eradicate, or
conduct research on the brown tree snake.
(B) An assessment of regulatory limitations that hinder
Federal, State, territorial, and local government efforts to
control, interdict, eradicate or conduct research on the
brown tree snake.
(4) Submission.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations for this purpose, the Technical Working Group
shall submit the report to Congress not later than one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) Meetings.--The Technical Working Group shall meet at
least annually.
(e) Inclusion of Guam.--The Secretaries shall ensure that
adequate representation is afforded to the government of Guam
in the Technical Working Group.
(f) Support.--To the maximum extent practicable, the
Secretaries shall make adequate resources available to the
Technical Working Group to ensure its efficient and effective
operation. The Secretaries may provide staff to assist the
Technical Working Group in carrying out its duties and
functions.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to each of the Secretaries not more than
$450,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010 to
carry out this section.
SEC. 8. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS.
(a) Availability of Appropriated Funds.--Amounts
appropriated under this Act shall remain available until
expended.
(b) Administrative Expenses.--Of the amounts appropriated
to carry out this Act for a fiscal year, the Secretaries may
expend not more than five percent to cover the administrative
expenses necessary to carry out this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr.
Grijalva) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).
Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest), chairman of the Fisheries Conservation,
Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee of the Committee on Resources, to
explain this legislation.
Mr. GILCHREST. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
this time.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 3479, the Brown Tree Snake Control and
Eradication Act of 2004, introduced by the distinguished gentlewoman
from Guam (Ms. Bordallo), has wide support.
This particular species, the brown tree snake, has been an awful
nemesis on Guam for 50 years. It has virtually eradicated all of the
local bird population that nests on the ground. It has been a problem
for many decades, and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) has been
relentless to bring that to our attention to do something about it.
This particular bill offers a number of approaches and solutions. It
broadens the level of Federal involvement and research in the brown
tree snake programs in Guam. It requires the establishment of
predeparture quarantine protocols so the brown tree snake does not go
anywhere else in the South Pacific. It declares that the brown tree
snake is nonmaleable, thank goodness for that; clarifies the role of
the brown tree snake technical working group, and authorized an
enhanced level of Federal financial assistance. So basically the
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) has created a structure upon which
it is possible, and many people thought it was impossible up to this
point, to actually eradicate the brown tree snake.
In my district in Maryland we have had a problem with an invasive
species called the nutria, a rat that weighs about 30 pounds, from
South America. It has been a significant problem for about the same
period of time, but because of a similar proposal structure, Federal
involvement, State involvement, and so on, we have neared the time
where we are eradicating that particular species.
So I want to compliment the gentlewoman from Guam. We will work with
her until the day that there are no brown tree snakes in Guam at all.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I would like to commend the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo),
[[Page H7688]]
the sponsor of this bill, for bringing forth this very important
legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo).
(Ms. Bordallo asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, first I would like to thank the
gentleman from Maryland (Chairman Gilchrest) for his very kind words in
support of this measure.
As this is the last in a number of the Committee on Resources' bills
to come to the floor today, I want to also take the opportunity to
thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo) and the gentleman
from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), ranking member, for the largely
bipartisan and cooperative nature by which they conduct the committee's
business. Such has been my experience as a freshman, and I am very
proud to serve on the committee with them.
I want to especially thank them and their staff for their assistance
with this bill. The Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Act of
2004 will bring more Federal attention and cooperative support for
dealing with the critical ecological threat in the Pacific region, the
brown tree snake, a harmful invasive species. The cooperation directed
in this legislation will actually save the Federal Government money by
coordinating Federal activities more efficiently and focusing on the
goal of eradication.
H.R. 3479 has been a joint and collaborative effort between myself
and the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case) and the gentleman from Hawaii
(Mr. Abercrombie). Together we have worked successfully with
stakeholders in our district to produce a good bill.
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Chairman
Gilchrest) for his support and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Pallone), ranking member, and their staff, for their support and due
diligence in this process.
{time} 1630
I also want to extend my appreciation to the gentleman from Virginia
(Chairman Goodlatte); the ranking member, the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Stenholm); and their staff for working with us on the provisions under
the Committee on Agriculture's jurisdiction.
H.R. 3479 recognizes that a coordinated effort on the part of the
public and private sectors with requisite accountability is essential
to the successful prevention, control, and management of the brown tree
snake. With the support of the House today, we can get the direction
and resources needed to step up the level of protection for the
ecological and economic interests of Guam, the Northern Marianas
Islands, Hawaii, and the mainland of the United States.
Mr. CASE. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House
passage of H.R. 3479, the Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Act
of 2004.
Last November I was pleased to join with my colleagues from Guam,
Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, and Congressman Neil Abercrombie
from Hawaii, in introducing this important legislation.
This bill proposes a long-overdue comprehensive approach, through the
Departments of Interior and Agriculture, to eradicate the brown tree
snake in Guam and to prevent its introduction to jurisdictions in the
Pacific, including my home state of Hawaii. There are other Federal
agencies, particularly the Departments of Defense and Homeland
Security, that are crucial to our efforts, and I am fully supportive of
resources and funding expended by or given to these agencies in
combating the brown tree snake.
I greatly appreciate the assistance of my colleagues on the House
Resources and Agriculture Committees for their hard work on bringing
this bill to the floor: House Resources Committee Chairman Richard
Pombo and Ranking Member Nick Rahall; House Resources Subcommittee on
Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Chairman Wayne Gilchrest
and Ranking Member Frank Pallone; House Agriculture Committee Chairman
Bob Goodlatte and Ranking Member Charles Stenholm; and House
Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture Chairman Robin
Hayes and Ranking Member Mike Ross.
The devastating ecological, economic, and human health impacts of the
brown tree snake have been long known among the affected jurisdictions
in the Pacific and the federal, state, and territorial agencies charged
with implementing brown tree snake preventative control and eradication
programs.
However, it is clear that unless we address this challenge with a
long-term, coordinated, and comprehensive approach, Guam will continue
to struggle with the adverse impacts of the brown tree snake, and we in
Hawaii will increasingly risk the introduction of the snake into our
fragile environment. A total of eight brown tree snakes have been found
live or dead in Hawaii since the mid-1980s. All have been associated
with the movement of civilian and military vehicles or cargo from Guam.
Most recently, I joined my colleagues from the Hawaii Congressional
delegation in expressing our concerns to and seeking funding assistance
from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in response to the proposed
reduction in inspection and trapping services at and around Guam
military and civilian ports by up to 50 percent this November. These
operations, which are run by APHIS Wildlife Services, annually
interdict 6,000-7,000 snakes. Since the DOD benefits significantly from
such operations, and is expected to increase its own presence in
activities and movements to and from Guam as much as three times in the
next five years, it is imperative that all military operational
expansion and construction planning on Guam should include brown tree
snake control and interdiction design measures and protocols. DOD
should consider such funding as part of its base operational and
readiness plans.
As background, the brown tree snake was accidentally introduced into
Guam in the late 1940s and 1950s, likely via U.S. military cargo, from
an area in the Pacific where the snakes are native. Unfortunately,
because Guam had no natural predator but abundant prey, the brown tree
snake population spread throughout the island.
Because the brown tree snake's preferred prey is birds, it is
directly responsible for the extinction of 9 of 134 native forest birds
and 3 of 12 native lizards on Guam. Economically, the snakes have
caused more than 1,600 power outages over a 20-year period in Guam,
costing the island $4.5 million per year without considering their
impact on transformers, and damages inside electrical substations. The
disruptions affect all aspects of everyday life in homes and work, as
well as for the government and the business community.
In Hawaii, the brown tree snake represents one of the greatest
terrestrial ecological threats due to its potential impact on our
endangered bird species, which are found nowhere else on earth. As a
result of Hawaii's geographical isolation and lush environment, there
were more than 140 endemic bird species in the islands prior to human
contact. Today, among the remaining 71 endemic forms, 30 are federally
listed as endangered, and 15 of these are on the brink of extinction.
Any negative impact on our native bird species in Hawaii will
inevitably impact our native flora as well. Hawaii has the highest
known number of endemic terrestrial plants of any major island group.
Economically, a University of Hawaii study estimates that the
introduction of the brown tree snakes to Hawaii will cause between $28
million and $450 million annually in electrical power outages. This
does not include the potential devastation to our agriculture industry.
In Guam, the brown tree snake has contributed to the decline in
production of the island's agriculture industry, particularly the
commercial poultry industry, because the snakes eat eggs and chicks.
The snake has also impacted the growing of fruits and vegetables
because insects that are no longer naturally controlled by birds and
lizards inflict increased damage on crops.
To address the brown tree snake problem, a Brown Tree Snake Control
Committee was established subsequent to provisions in the Nonindigenous
Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990. A multi-agency
Memorandum of Agreement on Brown Tree Snake Control was also signed in
1992 and renewed in 1999. However, it expired in March of this year.
The Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Act will statutorily
authorize a process to ensure the ongoing activities of federal
agencies, enhance their effectiveness, provide the necessary resources
from agencies actually conducting the work, and strengthen the
coordination between federal and regional stakeholder in Hawaii and the
Pacific in a more systemic fashion.
Among the authorized activities is the expansion of science-based
eradication and control programs in Guam; the expansion of interagency
and intergovernmental rapid response teams in Guam, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii; the expansion of efforts to
protect and restore native wildlife in Guam or elsewhere damaged by the
brown tree snake; continuation and expansion of sustained research
funding from the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS),
Wildlife Services, and National Wildlife Research Center, including the
establishment of
[[Page H7689]]
an APHIS, Wildlife Services, Operations Program State Office located in
Hawaii; and the expansion of long-term research into chemical and
biological control techniques that could lead to large-scale reduction
of brown tree snake populations in Guam.
H.R 3497 is a product of collaboration between my office, the offices
of Congresswoman Bordallo and Congressman Abercrombie, and the key
Federal, State, and territorial stakeholders in the region. While the
brown tree snake is just one of the more serious of many invasive
species threats to Hawaii, the mechanisms strengthened and established
under H.R. 3479 can serve as an exemplary model for addressing other
invasive species issues, not just in Hawaii, but in our whole country.
The bill is supported by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, the
Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Hawaii Invasive
Species Council, the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, the Coordinating
Group on Alien Species, and others. Such coordinated support in Hawaii
is illustrative of the seriousness that we take this issue and the
assistance the federal government can anticipate receiving after
enactment of this bill. Hawaii's stakeholders will not be silent and
passive partners in this effort.
I am specially proud about the establishment of the Hawaii Invasive
Species Council, which includes key State, county and Federal head
officials in Hawaii, by legislation approved by the 2003 Hawaii State
Legislature and Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle.
I understand that Hawaii is now only one of seven states in the
country to establish such a council in addressing invasive species
prevention and response measures at the State level.
Again, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3479,
the Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Act of 2004. This measure
will not only ensure continued security for Hawaii and Guam, but the
entire Pacific region.
The Hawai'i Biological Survey has documented that an average of 177
alien species arrive in the State of Hawai'i each year. Out of all the
possible alien plants and animals that could make their way to the
Hawaiian Islands, one of the most feared is the brown tree snake.
The brown tree snake arrived in Guam on military materiel transport
from the Solomon Islands after World War II. Because Guam has no
natural predator for the brown tree snake, the snakes have been able to
flourish and have been recorded as high as 10,000 snakes per acre. The
brown tree snake is blamed for the extinction of 9 out of 11 bird
species native to Guam. These snakes also cause frequent and costly
power outages and are known to bite humans. Like Guam, Hawaii has no
native snakes and no natural predators for snakes. Only one pregnant
brown tree snake needs to reach Hawaii in order for the State to
experience the same catastrophic consequences as Guam.
Wildlife Services under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service in the Department of Agriculture provides brown tree snake
control on Guam by inspecting outgoing military and civilian cargo and
providing trapping services at Guam's ports. These services interdict
6,000 to 7,000 snakes annually and have proved to be very successful in
keeping the brown tree snake out of Hawaii.
For the past 10 years, the funding for these services has remained
fixed. The program was able to make up for inflation and increasing
costs by stopgap measures that have enabled them to continue services.
However, this is no longer possible. Unforeseen vehicle repair or
replacement costs, critical travel associated with program
delivery, required training for staff, increased costs of operations
and growing containment responsibilities are forcing significant
reductions in operations. Compounding the problem, Wildlife Services
has been informed by Anderson Air Force Base that it will have to begin
to pay for in-kind services that have been provided to the program at
no cost since 1994. To compensate for this additional unanticipated
financial burden, further reductions in staffing are anticipated in
early fiscal year 2005.
H.R. 3479 would begin to resolve these problems by recognizing the
seriousness of the threat posed by the brown tree snake. This
legislation authorizes the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to
fund brown tree snake interdiction and control efforts and provide
grants for these efforts. Just as important, this measure would support
research efforts to control and eventually eradicate this harmful
species from Guam. Current funding does not allow for in depth research
that could lead to less labor intensive solutions than the current bait
and trap method. This legislation also requires the establishment of
pre-departure quarantine protocols for persons and cargo traveling from
Guam. This will ensure that this species is not able to spread to other
Pacific destinations.
Madam Speaker, this legislation is being considered at a crucial
point in time. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and thank
Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member Rahall for their continued efforts to
address the problems of the distant Pacific. I would also like to thank
Congresswoman Bordallo and her staff. Without the effort of all of
these parties, this legislation would not be before the House today.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3479, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________