Blake Moore: “I thank my colleague from the Badger State for yielding to me. I am so pleased to join him, along with Representative…”

“I thank my colleague from the Badger State for yielding to me. I am so pleased to join him, along with Representative Mark Pocan, in support of this amendment. It is critical, Mr. Chairman. Wisconsinites value our natural resources like no other. The Great Lakes are an immense source of regional pride as well as a great economic engine for our region, and we know that these resources are constantly under attack from a variety of threats. One particularly nefarious threat is invasive species. My colleagues and I are all aware of the costs these species impose. These costs are something that, unfortunately, the Great Lakes region knows too well. From the sea lamprey to the zebra mussel, to the carnivorous Asian carp now advancing toward the region, we have spent hundreds of millions of dollars dealing with the damage created when these invasive and nuisance species get into the Great Lakes ecosystem; and keeping them out of the Great Lakes in the first place is the most effective strategy. A stitch in time saves nine, so I am pleased that this is a bipartisan amendment. I want to emphasize that the amendment does not predetermine any particular outcome or decision. There is no magic bullet, Mr. Chairman, to the problem of invasive species given that there are so many pathways for them to get into a body of water, including through ballast water, but this commonsense amendment gives us a more effective tool in that fight. Mr.…”