[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 3, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S1438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. NELSON, of Florida:
  S. 373. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to include 
constrictor snakes of the species Python genera as an injurious animal; 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss exotic 
pythons and the devastating impact they are having on wildlife in my 
home state. To combat this deadly nonnative nuisance, I am also filing 
a bill that will ban the interstate commerce and importation of these 
snakes.
  Pythons were first discovered in the Everglades in the mid-1990s, and 
now have a rapidly-growing breeding population within the boundary of 
Everglades National Park. They impact almost seventy endangered species 
living in the Everglades and threaten to upset the natural balance that 
we are spending billions of dollars to restore. When I toured the 
Everglades with Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara 
Boxer, we witnessed firsthand the damage pythons are causing, and the 
efforts researchers are making to eradicate them from the wild.
  These snakes were brought to Florida to be sold as pets, and were 
introduced into the wild by owners who could no longer handle them. 
They eat animals ranging from songbirds to white ibises, as well as 
endangered and threatened species such as the Key Largo woodrat. 
Pythons can grow to be 23 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds, and 
there is currently no effective way of eradicating them in the wild.
  They can consume animals many times their size, and recently, 
researchers also found cougar parts in the stomachs of captured 
pythons. This development could signal a new threat to the endangered 
Florida panther, which we have been working so hard to save.
  Python populations have also been discovered in Big Cypress National 
Preserve to the north, Miami's water management areas to the northeast, 
Key Largo to the southeast, and many state parks, municipalities, and 
public and private lands in the region.
  Because climate range projections from the U.S. Geological Survey 
show that pythons may soon expand their range to include much of the 
southern third of the United States, getting their populations under 
control is even more pressing.
  In the last year, the State of Florida has taken some actions to 
address the problems created by owners who release their pythons into 
the wild, and I applaud these efforts. The State now requires owners of 
animals they call ``Reptiles of Concern''--a category that includes two 
species besides pythons--not only to obtain permits for their animals, 
but also to implant a tracking microchip in larger pythons.
  I believe federal action is also needed. That is why today I am 
introducing a bill that would amend the Lacey Act to ban the 
importation and interstate commerce of the python. This step is needed 
to reduce the number of pythons released into the wild by pet owners 
who don't understand the responsibility caring for a python entails. In 
2007, preeminent environmentalist and former assistant secretary of the 
Interior Nathaniel Reed wrote, ``The dramatic increase in the number of 
snakes in the Park and Big Cypress call into question why it has taken 
so long for the Service to utilize its powers under the Lacey Act to 
prevent importation of the snake into an ecosystem where escapees and 
rejects have built a sustainable population.''
  If we do not take action now, we will let python populations in 
Florida continue to grow and further ravage the already-fragile 
Everglades, as well as risk letting them spread throughout the Southern 
portion of the United States.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 373

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. IMPORTATION OR SHIPMENT OF INJURIOUS SPECIES.

       Section 42(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended in the first sentence by inserting ``; of the 
     constrictor snake of the species Python genera'' after 
     ``polymorpha''.

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