Asian Carp Update from Congressman Tim Burchett
Appropriations
- Burchett’s #1 FY21 appropriations request was for $25 million for Asian carp activities
- Funding aimed at protecting and enhancing Asian carp activities in the Mississippi River and its tributaries/sub-basins including the Tennessee/Cumberland sub-basin
- Burchett sent a letter to the Interior sub-committee Chairwoman and Ranking Member highlighting his support for this funding. In the letter he stressed the importance of:
- Supporting the purchase and installation of barriers to prevent the movement of the carp
- Providing financial and other incentives for commercial fishermen to remove the carp
- Fund the monitoring of Asian carp to evaluate management actions and ensure that barrier and removal methods are being used successfully
- A full $25 million was included in the Interior subcommittee’s filed appropriations bill
- Of that $25 million, $3 million used for commercial fishing purposes
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
- Burchett led a letter to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee urging for language to be included to provide the Army Corps of Engineers with tools to study and address the spread of Asian carp, especially in the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins (click here to read)
- WRDA, which passed the House last week, included language:
- Allowing the Secretary of the Interior to update guidance on invasive species efforts at federally authorized water resources development projects located in high-altitude lakes and the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins
Note: Though both of these bills cleared the House, nothing will become law until:
- the Senate passes identical legislation and the President signs
- House and Senate iron out disagreements, in what is called a conference, and the selected conferees agree on an identical piece of legislation and then the President signs
