[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7821-H7823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ASIAN CARP PREVENTION AND CONTROL ACT
Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 1421) to amend section 42 of title 18, United States Code, to
prohibit the importation and shipment of certain species of carp.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1421
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 ``Asian Carp Prevention and
Control Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDITION OF SPECIES OF CARP TO THE LIST OF INJURIOUS
SPECIES THAT ARE PROHIBITED FROM BEING IMPORTED
OR SHIPPED.
Section 42(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ``of the bighead carp of the species
Hypophthalmichthys nobilis;'' after ``Dreissena
polymorpha;''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker and Members of the House, S. 1421 prohibits importation
and interstate shipment of certain species of carp and amends section
42 of title 18 of the code to add the bighead variety of the species
commonly known as Asian carp to the list of injurious species that are
prohibited from being shipped in or imported into the United States.
Asian carp are a significant threat to the Great Lakes because they
are large, extremely prolific, and consume vast amounts of food. They
can grow to more than 6 feet in length and weigh in excess of 100
pounds, quickly dominating the waters they inhabit and eating as much
as 40 percent of their body weight daily.
Researchers caution that these fish could pose a significant risk to
the Great Lakes ecosystem by damaging habitats and disrupting the food
chain that supports native fish. In the 1970s, two species of Asian
carp, the bighead and silver, were imported by catfish farmers to
remove algae and suspended matter from their ponds. During large floods
in the early 1990s, many of the catfish ponds overflowed their banks,
and the Asian carp were released into local waterways in the
Mississippi River basin.
In an effort to prevent the carp from getting to the Great Lakes, a
barrier was constructed in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal which
connects the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, the
Asian carp are steadily making their way northward up the Mississippi,
and Asian carp DNA has been discovered beyond the barrier.
If these carp reach Lake Michigan, they are likely to spread
throughout the Great Lakes, where they would threaten the environment
and the economy. The Great Lakes are some of the most unique bodies of
water on the planet, and they would threaten not only the commercial
but recreational fishing on the lakes, both of which are major
contributors to the economies of Great Lakes States.
The Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act lists the bighead variety
of the species called Asian carp as injurious to wildlife under the
Lacey Act. And by including them in the Lacey Act, this bill will
prohibit importation or interstate transportation of live Asian carp
without a permit.
{time} 1620
It is our hope that this will help deter further intentional or
accidental introduction of the species into our waterways.
It should be noted that this legislation does not interfere with
existing State regulations of Asian carp. In addition, permits to
transport or purchase live Asian carp can still be issued for
scientific, medical, or educational purposes.
I commend my colleagues, the senior Senator from Michigan, Carl
Levin, and Senator George Voinovich, co-chairs of the Great Lakes Task
Force, for introducing this legislation, and hope it will be favorably
considered in this body.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
S. 1421, the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act, amends the Lacey
Act to designate the ``big head'' species of Asian carp as injurious
fish. This bill was introduced by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan and
recently passed the Senate by unanimous consent. My colleague, Mrs.
Biggert from Illinois, sponsored the House companion bill to this
legislation, H.R. 3137, and has been a tireless champion of this
legislation.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Asian carp were
imported by catfish farmers in the 1970s to remove algae from their
commercial ponds. During large floods in the early 1990s, many of the
catfish farm ponds overflowed their banks and the Asian carp were
released into local waterways in the Mississippi River basin.
The carp have steadily made their way north up the Mississippi,
becoming the most abundant species in some areas of the river. Dubbed
the ``underwater lawn mower,'' these enormous fish have become a menace
to native species and their habitats. Asian carp can grow to over 4
feet long and over 100 pounds in weight. These fish can consume nearly
three times their body weight in food each day. As a result, Asian carp
leave little food or no food supply for the other fish.
As the fish move upstream toward the Great Lakes, they threaten the
food supply of sport fish such as the yellow perch, walleye, and small
mouth bass. Carp are well-suited to the climate of the Great Lakes
region, which is similar to their native Asian habitats.
To prevent the carp from entering the Great Lakes, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of
Illinois, the International Joint Commission, the Great Lakes Fishery
Commission, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working together
to install and maintain a permanent electric barrier between the fish
and Lake Michigan.
This designation prohibits the importation and interstate shipment of
Asian carp unless a permit is issued by the Secretary of the Interior.
The penalty for illegally importing or shipping Asian carp is a fine or
imprisonment up to 6 months. This bill is supported by Members from
both sides of the aisle in
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both the House and the Senate. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the author of
this bill, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).
Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to
support Senate 1421, the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act. This is
the Senate companion to a bill I have sponsored in this House since
2007, and its passage will be a long overdue victory for wildlife
preservation here in the United States.
As most of you know, those of us in the Illinois delegation have
worked tirelessly to stem the spread of invasive species into the Great
Lakes ecosystem for many years. Currently, Asian carp are the single
greatest biological threat to that natural habitat, having traveled for
the last four decades up the Mississippi River basin into the Illinois
River, and now is close to the shipping and sanitary canals that
connect our rivers to the freshwater lakes, particularly Lake Michigan.
These ferocious fish prey on and compete with the native species for
food and eat up to 40 percent of their body weight every day, as has
been mentioned. And because they eat the natural plant life near the
bottom of the food chain, they can quickly displace native species,
destroy fishing habitats, and threaten maritime jobs.
The reason these fish came to become such a nuisance and cost
taxpayers millions of dollars to combat is because they were imported
into the U.S. by the southern fish farmers who used them to clean their
breeding ponds. Subsequent flooding allowed them to escape into our
river system and eventually travel up from the gulf towards Lake
Michigan.
Madam Speaker, it is long past the time to recognize that these
species do not belong in fish tanks--they certainly wouldn't fit
because they grow so large--and domestic ponds where they could find
their way into other fragile ecosystems.
In Illinois, we have spent an awful lot of time working on ways to
keep those fish out of the Great Lakes. It is so important. The
electric dispersal barriers, and there are now two that the Army Corps
has put into the sanitary canal in my district, and we have had
blockage of the tributaries of the river so even by flooding they
cannot get into the canal. We have oxygenation. I have been at fish
kills where they have actually made the water dead to kill the fish.
One of the things that is now taking place is certainly the fishing
for these fish further down the river, and they are now sending the
fish to China where they are turning them into food over there.
But the bill that we are considering today will add the big head
species of the Asian carp to the list of injurious species under the
Lacey Act and prevent their sale or importation into the United States.
This ban would not apply to the dead fish that I was just talking
about--they are caught and sent to China as dead fish--and includes
only the species of the invasive carp that the Federal wildlife
managers found last June in Lake Calumet in Illinois.
With that, Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend from
Michigan, Senator Levin, who secured passage of this bill in the Senate
and express my gratitude to all my colleagues from the Great Lakes
States who have worked with us for many years to preserve our waters
from the invasive species. This effort is not only about protecting our
ecosystem, but also the billions in jobs and opportunities that our
precious natural habitats and waterways provide to U.S. citizens every
year. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Ms. KAPTUR. I rise in support of S. 1421, the Asian Carp Prevention
and Control Act.
For the last 2 decades the Federal Government has sat still. We have
allowed numerous Asian Carp species to expand their range further and
further North and today, Asian Carp are on the doorstep of the Great
Lakes. With sustainable populations in Indiana and Illinois and the $7
billion recreational fishery at stake, immediate action is needed.
This legislation takes an important step in restricting the
transportation of the Big Head Asian Carp by listing it as an injurious
species under the Lacey Act, prohibiting this fish from being shipped
or imported into the United States.
Should the Asian Carp successfully invade the Great Lakes, they would
likely breed and prosper in the shallow and warm waters along the 90
miles of Lake Erie coastline in the Ninth Congressional District. In
areas that the Asian Carp have already invaded, Asian Carp have
outcompeted local species, destroying habitat for many species.
With 328,000 anglers and an $800 million economic impact from Lake
Erie's recreational fishing industry, aggressive action is needed. My
hope is that S. 1421 is just the start in a series of actions the House
will take in the coming year. Congress must fund the protection
efforts, ecologically separate the ecosystem and light a fire under the
Federal and State agencies to protect one of our regions greatest
economic resources.
On behalf of 20 percent of the worlds freshwater, the millions of
great lakes anglers and towns both big and small that are dependent on
the ecological resources of the Great Lakes, I urge my colleagues to
support this critical legislation.
Mr. PETRI. Madam Speaker, as a representative from the Great Lakes
region and a cosponsor of the House version of this bill, I support
passage of S. 1421, the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act. S. 1421
will explicitly ban Asian carp from being imported or shipped to the
U.S.
Entry and proliferation of Asian carp into the Great Lakes would be
ruinous to businesses, particularly commercial fishing and recreation,
which rely on the Great Lakes for their livelihood, as well as to the
ecology of the Great Lakes system as a whole.
This legislation is another necessary measure to ensure this damaging
species is kept out of the Great Lakes. I am thankful that Congress has
taken several steps so far, including authorization and funding of the
electrical barriers in the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, and other
measures.
We must continue to consider all options to keep Asian carp out of
the Great Lakes, including closing the locks on the Chicago Ship and
Sanitary Canal and examining the benefits and costs of pursuing long-
term ecological separation between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi
River basin to prevent carp and future invasive species from migrating
through this pathway.
I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to find
solutions to protect our Great Lakes from this continuing threat. I ask
the House to join me in supporting S. 1421.
Mr. LEVIN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Asian Carp
Prevention and Control Act and urge the House to pass it today.
Bighead carp were first brought to the United States in the 1970s to
control algae in aquaculture ponds. Unfortunately, bighead carp and
other harmful species of non-native fish were released into the
Mississippi River in the early 1990s during major flooding. Since then,
the Asian carp have established themselves in the Mississippi River
system. Asian carp are voracious eaters and the impact of the carp on
native fish populations has been severe.
In the ensuing years, the Asian carp have made their way north and
are now threatening to invade the Great Lakes. The federal government
and the Great Lakes states are fighting a pitched battle against the
carp to prevent them from becoming established in the Lakes. We must
use every means available to stop this destructive fish from invading
the Great Lakes.
We're already paying a heavy price for the decision to import these
non-native carp into the United States. For many years, during both the
Bush and Obama administrations, a number of us from the Great Lakes
region have been urging the Fish and Wildlife Service to include
bighead carp on the list of injurious species under the Lacey Act and
so minimize the risk of further harm by prohibiting the importation and
interstate transportation of live Asian carp without a permit.
The bill before the House today would list bighead carp as injurious
under the Lacey Act. I commend Senator Levin for introducing this
important legislation, which passed the Senate on November 17. Although
it is too late to undo the damage that bighead carp are doing in the
Mississippi River and its tributaries, we should do everything possible
to prevent these invasive fish from harming other areas of the United
States. I urge passage of S. 1421.
Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 1421.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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