[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13894-13895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         MACADAMIA TREE HEALTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Hawaii (Ms. Gabbard) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, when most people think of Hawaii, my home 
State, they immediately think of our beautiful beaches, mountains, 
vistas, and wonderful people and culture, and they dream about when 
they might come and visit our home State. This contributes, no doubt, 
to our tourism industry being the major driver of our economy in 
Hawaii.
  But, along with our beautiful year-round climate comes a great 
opportunity for our agriculture industry. In fact, most people are not 
aware that agriculture is the third largest industry in our State, 
accounting for over $2.9 billion of our annual economy and at least 
42,000 jobs, according to our State Department of Agriculture. So, like 
States all across the country, we are working within government and the 
private sector to diversify and strengthen our economy, specifically 
our agriculture sector.

[[Page 13895]]

  However, one of the greatest threats that we are seeing in Hawaii and 
across the country to agriculture are invasive species. The macadamia 
felted coccid is one of more than 4,300 invasive species that threaten 
our agriculture industry. In Hawaii alone, the invasive species costs 
our local farmers, landowners, and ag industry millions of dollars 
every year and puts hundreds of our local small farms and thousands of 
local workers and the future of one of our most important crops at 
risk.
  Just last month, I had the chance to visit multiple farms on Hawaii 
island in my district, an island that produces 80 percent of Hawaii's 
world-renowned macadamia nuts that are shipped and sold all around the 
world. I heard one story after another from our farmers about how this 
tiny, invasive insect is destroying farms and threatening livelihoods 
that really bring many of our communities together. At just one of 
these more than 620 macadamia growing farms in Hawaii, this insect 
destroyed 500,000 pounds of macadamia nuts in just 1 year.
  Like most things, you can't fix a problem that you don't fully 
understand. Very little is known about this invasive pest--from its 
lifecycle to its seasonal pattern to its basic vulnerabilities--that 
directly impacts our ability to fight back. That is why I have 
introduced the macadamia tree health initiative today.
  My bill would authorize much-needed research and development to 
combat the macadamia felted coccid and establish an area-wide 
integrated pest management plan in areas badly affected by this 
invasive pest. For years, these pest management plans have helped 
farmers across the country manage invasive pests in a sustainable, 
environmentally friendly, and cost-effective way.
  My bill would build off this pattern of success by bringing together 
local stakeholders, researchers, and other key players as we search for 
comprehensive solutions to keep the macadamia felted coccid and other 
invasive species from destroying our local farms and this important 
part of our domestic agriculture industry.
  In Hawaii, our macadamia nut industry employs thousands of people and 
is the economic lifeblood to many of our rural communities. Their jobs, 
their livelihood, and the vitality of our agriculture industry are at 
stake if we fail to act.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and empower our 
Nation's agriculture industry to fight back against these invasive 
harmful pests.

                          ____________________