Press Releases
Graves’ Nutria Eradication Bill Passes U.S. House
Washington, DC,
February 26, 2020
U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, a member of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement today after a bill he cosponsored passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation, H.R. 3399 - To amend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to include California in the program, and for other purposes, provides funding for a nutria bounty program and restoration funds to nutria related damage. U.S. Congressman Josh Harder (D-CA) is the sponsor of the legislation. Graves spoke about the bill on the House Floor: "I have come here many times to describe the coastal challenges we have in Louisiana. We have lost 2,800 square miles of our coast, and the 20 million invasive nutria infesting our state are part of the problem. Think about this: nearly 4.5 million people live in Louisiana, yet we have an estimated 20 million nutria…20 million! It's an extraordinary figure. If we could count them in the census, Louisiana would pick up an additional 27 members of Congress. We're having infestation without representation and we need to do something about it…" Watch the full speech below. "Nutria threaten farmers, indigenous wildlife, and our water infrastructure – it's time to bring in the cavalry and drive them out of the Valley – that's just what my bill would do," said Harder. "This is a bipartisan concern and today's unanimous vote proves that Washington can, in fact, get something done." The current Louisiana Coastwide Nutria Control Program is funded through 2022. To read more, click here. 2018-2019 Nutria Control Program:
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