Glenn Thompson: “I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment. It is an incredibly important amendment. Ms. Stefanik talked about…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment. It is an incredibly important amendment. Ms. Stefanik talked about just one of many invasive species. This body, uniformly and united, put a lot of money into a significant threat to our forests, which was wildfire funding. Those of us who live on the East Coast, we have wildfires, Mr. Chairman, but they are more limited in scope. We don't have, certainly, the devastating effects of the half a million acres that I saw when I visited Washington. Our primary threat is invasive species. The hemlock woolly adelgid is one of those. That is actually our State tree that it goes after in Pennsylvania, so we take that pretty personal. When the hemlock woolly adelgid kills the hemlock trees, it warms our trout streams, which we are known for, and that is an important part of our number two industry, which is tourism. We have a new threat that has just recently come into this country from somewhere in Asia. It might have been China, I am not sure. It is called the spotted lanternfly. The spotted lanternfly is the most beautiful butterfly you have every seen, Mr. Chairman, but it is the most deadly to grapes, apple trees, pear trees, all fruit trees, and hardwoods. That is a big part of our economy, certainly in Pennsylvania and on the East Coast. Mr. Chairman, I really support this amendment.…”