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United States Senator Debbie Stabenow
January 7, 2010
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for contacting me about legislation limiting the importation and transportation of pythons and boa constrictors.
Over the years, I have enjoyed the companionship of many family pets. I understand your strong feelings about protecting your ability to keep and care for your pets.
As you may know, Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) introduced a bill (S.373) that would ban the importation of constrictor snakes and pythons into the United States. This bill passed the Environment and Public Works Committee on December 10, 2009, and is currently pending before the Senate. Should this legislation come before me for a vote, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed about issues of concern to you and your family.
Sincerely,
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
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Dear Mrs. Marshall:
Thank you for contacting me regarding non-native, invasive species. I appreciate hearing your views on this matter. I have long been concerned about the threat posed by invasive species. These species, which are introduced from other ecosystems, often encounter few, if any, natural enemies in their new environments and wreak havoc on native species. Estimates of the annual economic damage caused by invasive species run as high as $137 billion.
In an effort to address this issue, I cosponsored the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-332). This law authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to build a temporary dispersal barrier (Barrier I) in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to stop invasive species, such as Asian Carp, from entering Lake Michigan. Along with the other members of the Great Lakes Task Force, I have made repeated efforts to authorize and to provide funding for the Army Corps to complete and enhance the dispersal barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Additionally, I introduced the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act (S.1421). This legislation would place the Bighead carp on the list of injurious species under the Lacey Act. This act established civil and criminal penalties for violation of any transportation restrictions on plants, fish, and wildlife. Listing Bighead carp as an injurious species under the Lacey Act would prevent the importation and interstate commerce of live Bighead carp without a permit, and as a result, would lower the risk of an introduction of this species into the Great Lakes. We have already spent $9 million on the electric dispersal barrier, and it would undermine that effort to allow Asian carp to be introduced into the Great Lakes because we did not do everything in our power to block other pathways of introduction into the lakes.
Another piece of non-native species legislation, commonly referred to as the Python bill (S. 373), would place python constrictor snakes on the list of injurious species. This designation would prohibit the importation of this snake into the United States. I am a cosponsor of this legislation, which has been approved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Invasive species in the Great Lakes are an ecological, economical and health threat. I will continue to work to ensure that the threat of invasive species is reduced. Thank you again for writing.
Sincerely,
Carl Levin
January 7, 2010
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for contacting me about legislation limiting the importation and transportation of pythons and boa constrictors.
Over the years, I have enjoyed the companionship of many family pets. I understand your strong feelings about protecting your ability to keep and care for your pets.
As you may know, Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) introduced a bill (S.373) that would ban the importation of constrictor snakes and pythons into the United States. This bill passed the Environment and Public Works Committee on December 10, 2009, and is currently pending before the Senate. Should this legislation come before me for a vote, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed about issues of concern to you and your family.
Sincerely,
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
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Dear Mrs. Marshall:
Thank you for contacting me regarding non-native, invasive species. I appreciate hearing your views on this matter. I have long been concerned about the threat posed by invasive species. These species, which are introduced from other ecosystems, often encounter few, if any, natural enemies in their new environments and wreak havoc on native species. Estimates of the annual economic damage caused by invasive species run as high as $137 billion.
In an effort to address this issue, I cosponsored the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-332). This law authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to build a temporary dispersal barrier (Barrier I) in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to stop invasive species, such as Asian Carp, from entering Lake Michigan. Along with the other members of the Great Lakes Task Force, I have made repeated efforts to authorize and to provide funding for the Army Corps to complete and enhance the dispersal barriers in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Additionally, I introduced the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act (S.1421). This legislation would place the Bighead carp on the list of injurious species under the Lacey Act. This act established civil and criminal penalties for violation of any transportation restrictions on plants, fish, and wildlife. Listing Bighead carp as an injurious species under the Lacey Act would prevent the importation and interstate commerce of live Bighead carp without a permit, and as a result, would lower the risk of an introduction of this species into the Great Lakes. We have already spent $9 million on the electric dispersal barrier, and it would undermine that effort to allow Asian carp to be introduced into the Great Lakes because we did not do everything in our power to block other pathways of introduction into the lakes.
Another piece of non-native species legislation, commonly referred to as the Python bill (S. 373), would place python constrictor snakes on the list of injurious species. This designation would prohibit the importation of this snake into the United States. I am a cosponsor of this legislation, which has been approved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Invasive species in the Great Lakes are an ecological, economical and health threat. I will continue to work to ensure that the threat of invasive species is reduced. Thank you again for writing.
Sincerely,
Carl Levin
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