[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 15 (Monday, January 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE NONNATIVE WILDLIFE INVASION PREVENTION ACT

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                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 26, 2009

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, today I have reintroduced a bill to 
protect the United States from harm caused by invasive species. In the 
110th Congress, I introduced H.R. 6311, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion 
Prevention Act, in response to the increasing economic, environmental, 
and human health threats posed by invasive wildlife species. I am 
reintroducing this legislation as a proactive approach to combating 
invasive wildlife species by prohibiting their importation.
  Nonnative plants and animals are known by scientists to have been 
introduced into ecosystems in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, 
and the territories. Invasive, nonnative species can harm the economy, 
environment, other animal species' health and human health. Such harm 
ranges, for example, from depreciating farmland property values and 
loss of irrigation water to increasing spread of disease. Additionally, 
collapse of buildings, competition with native animals, sport, game, 
and endangered species losses, habitat alteration, and other ecosystem 
disturbances, have all resulted from the introduction of certain 
invasive species.
  Scientists and economists generally estimate the cost of damages 
caused by invasive species in the United States to amount to over $123 
billion annually. The risks associated with the introduction and 
establishment of invasive species, and the costs of mitigation, will 
continue to rise concomitantly with the expansion of trade and 
increased speed and frequency of travel around the world and within the 
United States. The volume of cargo shipped and exchanged worldwide 
continues to increase and many communities across the United States are 
experiencing growth in tourism. These factors are reason alone to 
develop protocols and a system for assessing the risk of all nonnative 
wildlife species that could be imported or introduced into the United 
States.
  Preventing the introduction of invasive species is a significant 
challenge and priority for many communities across the country, 
including my district, Guam. Invasive species, for example, threaten 
the biodiversity and the ecology of the Florida Everglades, the 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and the Great Lakes, among other national 
environmental treasures. On Guam, the brown tree snake has caused the 
extirpation of many endemic forest birds and lizards. The coqui tree 
frog and the coconut rhinoceros beetle are the latest species to have 
entered Guam. Although these species were 1 accidentally introduced, 
intentional introduction of invasive species is something that can and 
should be controlled. The bill reintroduced today would protect 
citizens, the economy, and the environment from imported wildlife 
species that have the known potential to and that would likely harm our 
interests in the United States.
  Absent a comprehensive federal law addressing the importation of 
nonnative species, the only protection is provided by the Lacey Act 
Amendments of 1981. This law authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 
to designate wildlife species considered ``injurious'' to humans and 
prohibits importation of such species into the country. The process, 
however, to designate a species as injurious can take up to four years, 
at which point harm has already been done.
  The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act authorizes the 
establishment by regulation of a risk assessment process to control the 
importation of wildlife species. The bill adopts a preventative 
approach by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to develop with 
public notice and public input a ``green list'' of species allowed to 
be imported and a ``black list'' preventing invasive species from 
entering the country. Prior to approving a species to be imported, the 
Secretary must evaluate its potential risk to human, other animal 
species, and environmental health. Any imports of species, which are 
not on the ``green list,'' will be subject to penalties under the Lacey 
Act Amendments of 1981. The Secretary, however, may permit importation 
of an animal of such other prohibited species for educational, 
scientific research, or accredited zoological or aquarium display 
purposes. Finally, import fees will be collected to cover the costs of 
the risk assessment process.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to advance this legislation and to strengthen the abilities of 
the federal government to more effectively manage and prevent the 
introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species.

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