Jeff,



On the national level, the votes are important but at the local level, that depends on the economic impact. Del. Bordallo, is one of those “protected specimens” in Congress so, she doesn’t care as long as this type of legislation keeps her palm scratched. I agree with you, I’d like to see the SAWG estimate the CBO as well regarding the cost of the bill (S-373), it is amazing that their memory is selective regarding the cost of anything they do. Rather, they are a snapshot in time and not a total picture.



An example is Public Law (PL) 108-384, the Brown Tree Snake Eradication Act of 2004. It originated from HR-3479, the Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Act of 2004. The house bill was introduced on November 7, 2003 and was sponsored by none other than Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) of HR-669 fame. PL 108-384 was signed into law by President George Bush on October 30, 2004. Granted this is a six year “snap shot”, the amount of money does not reflect the true total spent over time. How much money has the federal government spent on this problem on the island of Guam over how many decades?



By the CBO report in September 9, 2004, for HR-3479 states that an appropriation of $18 million annually for the next six years ($108 million total). Of this total, $450,000 was allocated to the “brown tree snake control and eradication committee”. This amounts to 0.42% going to the “eradication” and 99.58% going to “control” of the brown tree snake. By happen stance, $4.6 million goes to infrastructure on the island of Guam (4.26% of the total). Once again, a politician bringing home the “pork” but in this case, it is “conservation” pork. I imagine that the whopping 0.42% spent by the “committee” to actually eradicate the “non-native invasive species” will absolutely guarantee that they will not solve the problem. As a consequence, there will be another one of these bills in the future to continue funding Del. Bordallo’s next reelection campaign so she can bring home the “pork”. She’s essential to the animal rights agenda in Congress to sponsor these bills. Also, with this "control" money, many federal agencies share in the tax dollars to support continuing "programs" until 2010. What do you bet, we'll see another brown tree snake "pork" project very soon?



http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/CIA_World_Fact_Book,_2004/Guam



According to the CIA World Fact Book in 2004, the economy of Guam is based almost exclusively on tourism (and tourist supported industries) these days as the US military is downsized. As a coincidence, “tourism” is one of the activities permitted within UN’s Biosphere Reserve Program and World Heritage Programs. Note in the CIA’s estimate below, what industry takes up the slack for the previous US dollars to Guam’s economy. Is it also a coincidence that the ENP is also a UN’s Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Programs? I wonder…



“The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry had recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing.”



http://www.govtrack.us/data/us/108/bills.cbo/h3479.pdf



BASIS OF ESTIMATE



H.R. 3749 would specifically authorize the appropriation of $18 million annually for the next six years. Of this amount, $450,000 would be provided to the brown tree snake control and eradication committee as authorized by section 7. The remaining amounts would be authorized to be appropriated to USDA and DOI to support control, interdiction, research, and eradication measures taken by federal and nonfederal agencies and by private entities. As specified by section 5, this funding includes $7 million a year for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and $11 million a year for DOI agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Office of Insular Affairs. Of those amounts, $4.6 million a year is earmarked for construction and planning assistance to Guam for multiagency facilities such as laboratories, dog kennels, and office space.



In addition to the amounts specifically authorized to be appropriated by H.R. 3479, CBO estimates that there would be additional costs to administer and enforce new quarantine

procedures for travelers, baggage, and cargo leaving Guam and other locations infested with brown tree snakes. Section 6 of the bill would require USDA and DOI to develop protocols for the predeparture quarantines but would prohibit implementing the protocols unless funds are appropriated specifically for that purpose. CBO expects that APHIS and DOI would develop the required protocols using a portion of the funds authorized for 2005 by section 5. Assuming additional appropriations to implement the protocols, we estimate that APHIS would spend a total of $3 million annually beginning in 2006 for inspections and other enforcement activities.



For this estimate, CBO assumes that the entire amounts authorized by sections 5 and 7 or estimated to be necessary to carry out section 6 will be appropriated for each fiscal year. We further assume that the amounts authorized to be appropriated to DOI and USDA by section 5 will be used to support control and eradication measures on military and other federal lands; no additional amounts are estimated to be necessary to carry out the

responsibilities of DoD and other agencies under section 4. This estimate is based on information provided by the USFWS, the National Invasive Species Council, DoD, and other federal and local agencies.



ESTIMATED IMPACT ON STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS



H.R. 3479 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. State and territorial governments, particularly Guam, would benefit from federal funds authorized by this bill for efforts to control and eradicate brown tree snakes. Any participation by these governments in the programs funded by the bill would be voluntary.



Later,

Jim.


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CSRAJim

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