ALERT: America COMPETES Act of 2022 Lacey Act Amendments

Jan 28, 2022 | USARK Newsletter

UPDATE 7/28/22: We have been posting relevant updates on our main alert here (scroll down). To be brief, the “CHIPS-Plus” bill that passed in the Senate passed the House on 7/28 (243-187 vote). This bill includes some of the technology initiatives included in the America COMPETES Act, USICA, and other bills. The portions of COMPETES that were not germane to the intent of the bill (including the bad Lacey Act amendments) were not added to the CHIPS-Plus package. This should be the end of any threat from these Lacey Act amendments for this Congressional session.

Thank you to everyone who contacted their legislators and voiced opposition! Your opposition is hugely important and needed. When advocacy groups like USARK meet with legislators, they give us more attention if they have been hearing from their constituents. The Reptile Nation is a huge part of USARK and we just want to say thank you again to those who took the time to fight for responsible herpetoculturists.

Also, a huge thank you to other animal keepers and organizations who opposed these Lacey Act amendments! USARK and herp keepers were certainly not the only ones fighting. The stoppage of these Lacey Act amendments shows that various animal interest groups can work together and make a difference. Thank you!


It only takes a few seconds! Do this alert first to get warmed up. Then, come back and complete the alert steps below. Easy ALERT: https://usark.org/alert/

Here is our simple Call To Action as featured on our YouTube channel: https://usark.org/calltoaction/

Printable Lacey Act Alert flyers! These are great for show vendors, sending in shipments, displaying in stores, etc.
Flyer #1: https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Lacey-SD.pdf
Flyer #2: https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Lacey-flyer.pdf

Read a comprehensive FAQ compilation at https://usark.org/2022laceyfaq/

Federal Senator mailing list: https://usark.org/senators/

Information and updates can be found by scrolling down.

TAKE ACTION

The bill passed the House on 2/4. Attention must move to the Senate as the House and Senate versions will merge. Remember to be civil and professional at all times. Please personalize/edit your letters, if possible. We have a sample letter and Talking Points below. You can also copy/paste some of our Talking Points (below letter) instead of the sample letter or when sending follow-up emails.

NOTE: At this time, we need more phone calls, mailed letters, and faxes! These carry more weight than emails.

1. Call your legislators;
2. Mail and fax letters to your legislators;
3. Email your legislators;
4. SHARE this and encourage others to complete the Alert!!!

Find and contact your two (2) U.S. Senators: 

  1. Go to this link: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
  2. Choose your State.
  3. Click “Contact” under a Senator’s name.
  4. Fill out the contact form. (You may need to click a second link such as SHARE, CONTACT, or EMAIL.)
  5. Repeat for your second Senator.
  6. You can find phone, fax, and mailing address details for Senators on their websites (after clicking “Contact”).

Find your U.S. Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

  1. Simply go to the link above and enter your zip code. Your Representative will appear. Just click on his/her name to send them emails through their websites.

Sample Phone Call Message
Remember, these politicians are paid with your tax money. They get paid to listen to your concerns. Never feel intimidated or worried about calling.
We have prepared sample messaging for you!

What to say: As your constituent, I ask that you do not support any Lacey Act amendments regarding injurious species. These amendments were recently buried in the America COMPETES Act and should not proceed as the conference committee reconciles HR4521 and S1260. Thank you.

If the member of Congress or staff asks for more details, you can use the Talking Points listed at the bottom of this page.

Sample Messaging (also lots of Talking Points below)

When mailing and faxing letters, be sure to add the legislator’s name as an introduction (i.e. Dear Senator ???). Sign with Sincerely and your name. You can include your city and state, too.

Email/letter/fax subject line:
NO to Lacey Act Amendments in America COMPETES Act

Sample Letter

As your constituent, a dedicated advocate for ecological conservation, and pet owner, I implore you to stop the Lacey Act amendments found within Section 71102 of the America COMPETES Act. These amendments are rife with unintended consequences and brazen overreach. The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S1260) and the America COMPETES Act (HR4521) will be reviewed in committee. The Lacey Act amendments are not pertinent to the intent of either of these bills and must be removed!

I have two major concerns with what the amendments will do. First, they will immediately place a ban on interstate transportation of species that are listed as injurious under the Lacey Act. Second, the amendments would grant a supreme authority to the federal enforcement agency to list more species.

The Lacey Act has already been used to list species of animals as injurious which are widely kept as pets by members of the public. Placing a ban on interstate transportation of injurious listed species would be devastating to thousands of businesses of all sizes (contrary to the purpose of the COMPETES Act), and would harm millions of pet owners. This would prohibit interstate travel for veterinary care, for educational programs, and for household relocation. The impact will be disproportionately felt by military service members, who are often relocated multiple times during a pet’s lifetime.

The federal and appellate courts previously decided that a ban on interstate transportation of injurious species was not the original intent of Congress. The Lacey Act amendments in the COMPETES Act would grant regulatory powers in extreme excess of the original intent behind the Lacey Act.

The section titled Presumptive Prohibition on Importation goes even further. This portion would create a “white list,” by default listing many more species that are kept as pets by the public. It would create authority for the federal agency to bypass the established regulatory process for new injurious listings. This means no due process, no requirement for public input, or advanced notice for listings.

The Lacey Act amendments are far-reaching and grossly unjust. They are counter to the purpose of the bill, and illogical. They must be left out of the compromise between HR4521 and S1260. Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter. Have a good day.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Talking Points

  1. These amendments will be devastating to thousands of businesses of all sizes, which is absolutely contrary to the purpose of the COMPETES Act.
  2. Millions of pet owners will be harmed by this misuse of the Lacey Act.
  3. As seen previously when listing species as injurious under the Lacey Act, a heavy-handed brush is used to paint species as injurious that may only be an issue for one or two states, and hardly any large percentage of the U.S.
  4. If one state has a threat, that state can address it. All other states should not suffer the unjust implications and restrictions.
  5. The lack of forethought involved makes these amendments rife with unintended consequences and government overreach.
  6. Peer-reviewed science has been previously ignored in favor of predetermined pseudo-science to artificially validate biased injurious species listings.
  7. If these amendments pass, the Lacey Act will leave pet owners everywhere unable to move across state lines with their family pets.
  8. This restriction would include prohibitions on interstate travel for veterinary care, educational programs, and even relocation of family.
  9. The impact will be disproportionately felt by military service members, who are often relocated multiple times during a pet’s lifetime.
  10. The federal and appellate courts have already decided that a ban on interstate transportation with injurious species is not based on the original intent of Congress, but a gradual overreach by the federal agency.
  11. The Court ruling upheld that banning interstate transportation is overreaching and that only the localities, or states, with legitimate range matches should consider regulations regarding these species, not the federal government.
  12. Incorporating interstate movements into the Lacey Act will turn law-abiding pet owners into potential criminals.
  13. Regulation of wildlife has traditionally been a matter reserved to the states.
  14. State borders are already secure from injurious and invasive species as those states have the authority to regulate them.
  15. The states should decide which species need to be addressed, not the federal government which must consider all climate zones across the entirety of the U.S.
  16. The opportunity for injustice and oppressiveness from this power grab is disturbing.
  17. Rather than this new knee-jerk and supreme authority provided to the federal agency, any expansion of the Lacey Act to create interstate movement bans and a ‘white list/black list’ scenario should include reforms to the injurious listing process, including proof of widespread impact based on sound, peer-reviewed science, and definitely not the biased, pseudo-science witnessed previously.
  18. The role of the state wildlife agencies should be preserved in matters related to the regulation of wildlife within their borders or through regional agreements.
  19. Individual states are best positioned to assess local threats and balance the relative costs and benefits of prohibiting species.
  20. These Lacey Act amendments are far-reaching and, frankly, un-American.
  21. Please realize that the Lacey Act amendments found within the America COMPETES Act are illogical and unjust.
  22. The aquaculture industry alone anticipates losses of nearly half a billion dollars.
  23. Not for copy/paste! Please read: National surveys by APPA have shown that 29% of American households own birds, reptiles, fish, and/or small mammals (essentially, animals outside of dogs, cats, and horses). To find how many people may be affected by these Lacey Act amendments in your state, simply do an internet search for your state’s population and multiply that number by .29. For example, the population of Pennsylvania is 13,000,000. So, 13,000,000 and .29 is 3,770,000.
Information and UPDATES

UPDATE 7/28/22: The “CHIPS-Plus” bill that passed in the Senate has now passed the House (243-187 vote). This bill includes some of the technology initiatives included in the America COMPETES Act and other bills. The portions of COMPETES that were not germane to the intent of the bill (including the bad Lacey Act amendments) were not added to the CHIPS-Plus bill.

UPDATE 7/27/22: This is the current version of the technology-focused “CHIPS-Plus” bill. No Lacey Act amendments are in this bill. https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-117HR4346SASA.pdf

UPDATE 7/20/22: After months of negotiations, the Senate voted to advance a $52 billion bill aimed at boosting domestic semiconductor production. The House may vote next week as this works through the process. This will take some pressure off the conference committee and the USICA/COMPETES reconciliation may fade away but keep contacting legislators through our alerts!

UPDATE 7/6/22: There is still no reconciled bill. The conference committee will be pressured to merge the bills and pass it before the August recess.

UPDATE 5/10/22: The conference committee will meet for the first time on May 12 at 10:00 AM EST. It will be webcast on the Senate Commerce Committee’s website at www.commerce.senate.gov.

UPDATE 4/25: Congress is back from recess and discussions on this matter will be one of the top priorities with formal negotiations set to begin this week. Please keep contacting your legislators! Remember, we are not trying to stop this bill but we need to keep the Lacey Act amendments from being hidden in this expansive piece of legislation. Members of Congress know that this could be the last big bill that passes this session. As such, there will be attempts to slip in bills that would not pass on their own into this monster package.

UPDATE 4/7: House conference committee members have been named. An unofficial Senate list has also been released. See the list at https://usark.org/laceycomm/

UPDATE 3/29: A top priority on Capitol Hill is to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act (this is the current name for the bill that will merge HR4521 and S1260). The primary goal of this bill is to boost high-tech research and chip manufacturing in the United States. Since the House and Senate passed different versions, the two versions must now be merged (reconciled). The process to conduct a formal reconciliation finally started Monday evening with a move from the Senate that replaced the text of HR4521 with the text of S1260 and sent it back to the House. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House should vote this week against the bill from the Senate. This downvote will trigger the formation of a conference committee with members from both chambers. That committee will reconcile HR4521 and S1260 to produce a final bill. Following a vote to begin a formal conference negotiation process, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell must define the structure of the committee talks.

UPDATE 3/28: Following a roll call to limit debate on the measure (cloture), the Senate voted 68-28 to send its version (text from S1260) of this bill back to the House. Next, the House will reject this bill. This was the process needed to set up a cross-chamber conference committee to settle on the final language for the bill (reconciliation of the two bills).

UPDATE 3/24: As we have reported for nearly two months, the America COMPETES Act text will be swapped with the language from the Senate version (U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, or USICA). This should occur on March 28. USICA does not contain the Lacey Act amendments of concern. The bill will then be sent back to the House. Following this action, a committee of Senators and Representatives will form to reconcile the two bills. We must keep voicing opposition to keep the Lacey Act amendments from making it back into this bill.

UPDATE 3/17/22: Discussions are escalating regarding the reconciliation of S1260 and HR4521. The goal to strengthen the economy of the U.S. is a priority so the formal conference to reconcile the bills may begin in late March or early April. Please keep contacting your legislators to keep the Lacey Act amendments from being included in the final bill!

UPDATE 2/14: As we have stated, the America COMPETES Act (HR4521) and U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S1260) will be reconciled (merged) in committee. The merged bill will likely have a new name. As of this update, the House has yet to send the final version of HR4521 to the Senate (due to over 200 amendments being added on the House floor). Informal discussion on the reconciliation may begin this week. The formal Senate/House conference should begin in March. This issue of strengthening the U.S. economy (specifically in the technology fields) is a priority for many in Congress. Our mission remains to keep the Lacey Act amendments from being added to this or any other bill.

The final HR4521 is 3,610 pages after the addition of the many floor amendments. These Lacey Act amendments found in Section 71102 begin on page 2,060. You can read the full bill at https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2022-HR4521-COMPETES-final.pdf.

UPDATE 2/4: This bill passed in the House and will go to the Senate. We will adjust our alert to contact Senators at the appropriate time. It was a slim margin with the final vote at 222-210.

UPDATE 2/1: The America COMPETES Act passed out of the Rules Committee, as expected. It will next go to the full House for a vote [floor debate on February 2]. Our goal is not to stop the bill but to get the Lacey Act amendments removed. During today’s hearing, Arkansas Representative Westerman specifically cited the Lacey Act amendments as provisions that, “…would not stand a chance if they were vetted through regular order and the legislative process.” The hearing was filled with opposition and pointed concern that this Act is far too broad and unfocused with an unreasonable number of proposed amendments (over 600).

What is happening…

1/28/22: Buried within the 2,912 pages of the America COMPETES Act of 2022 (HR4521) lie Lacey Act amendments that affect all non-domesticated pet/animal (i.e. all animals except dogs, cats, and traditional farm animals) owners. COMPETES is an acronym for Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength. The stated purpose of the Act is to strengthen America’s economic and national security but obviously, this was slipped into the massive bill in hopes to go unnoticed.

The amendments would reverse the USARK federal lawsuit victory by reinstating the ban on interstate transportation of species listed as injurious under the Lacey Act. The bill would also create a “white list” (see #2 below) that could affect millions of pet owners, as well as pet businesses. Could your pet or species of interest (not just reptiles) potentially survive in southern Florida or any other location in the U.S.? Then it could be listed as injurious for just that reason! If this passes and your species of interest, even your pet, is listed as injurious, then it cannot be transported across state lines. That means you could not even take a pet with you if you moved to another state or needed veterinary care across a state border. This does not just ban sales but prohibits all interstate transportation and importation into the U.S. This will trickle down to hundreds or thousands of common pet species.

The America COMPETES Act passed in the House on February 4 (updated). It now goes to the Senate to be reconciled with an innovation policy package called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, or USICA, that passed in the Senate last year. The America COMPETES Act is the House Democrats’ response to USICA (which does not contain the Lacey Act amendment). Section 71102 of the America COMPETES Act is the same language we saw introduced by Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Senate Bill 626 in 2021.

We have posted additional information at https://usark.org/2022lacey1/.

Briefly, the amendments will:

  1. Provide that the Lacey Act bans the interstate transport of species listed as injurious. Specifically, it replaces Lacey’s current language ‘‘shipment between the continental United States’’ with ‘‘transport between the States.”
  2. Create a “white list” of species that can be imported. This means that any animal (reptile, amphibian, fish, bird, mammal) that is not on the white list is by default treated as potentially injurious and is banned from importation.
  3. Create a new authority allowing FWS to use an “emergency designation” that becomes effective immediately after being published in the Federal Register unless an extension of no more than 60 days is allowed. That means no due process, public input, hearings, advanced notice, etc. for injurious listings.
  4. Permit FWS to not allow importation if a species has not been imported in “minimal quantities” (to be defined) in the year prior to the enactment of this Act.
  5. The effective date would be one year after the enactment of this Act.

Read the relevant amendment text (Section 71102) at https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-HR4521-excerpt.pdf.

In our landmark court decision, four federal judges agreed that USARK was correct and that the Lacey Act (Title 18 Section 42 of the U.S. Code) did not ban interstate transportation of injurious species based on the original language of the Lacey Act and the intent of Congress. As a result of this fight for our members and the herpetocultural community, this meant animals domestically bred under human care could be moved and sold across state lines (within the continental United States). For herpetoculturists’ concerns, this included some species of constrictor snakes and 201 species of salamanders.

Garrett Hartle’s letter (via our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUqGNL4mvOsJecjJwG6onMw)

Dear INSERT LEGISLATOR NAME,

As a responsible reptile keeper and small business owner, I urge you oppose amendments to the Lacey Act that were included in the America COMPETES Act. These amendments will negatively impact hundreds of thousands of pet owners across the country. As you are a member of the conference committee assigned with the task of creating a technology and U.S. economic strength package by reconciling HR4521 and S1260, I am urging you to do what is right and make sure these devastating and biased Lacey Act amendments are not included in the final bill.

In our state of Pennsylvania, the American Pet Products Association estimates that 3.8 million owners of fish, birds, reptiles, and small mammals could be impacted by these amendments. As a responsible reptile breeder who was already impacted by an injurious listing, I have witnessed overreach and prejudiced science used to list species as injurious.

The proposed changes give blanket authority to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate injurious species without any of the current due process requirements for public input, advanced notice, or comment. For pet owners and businesses whose animals end up on the banned list, movement across state lines would be prohibited across the entire U.S., even if the species could only possibly survive in extreme southern Florida or Hawaii. The amendments also create a list of allowed species, leaving all others banned from import with no stakeholder or scientific input.

Not only could pet owners find themselves unable to travel with their animals, interstate transport would also be banned for veterinary care, educational programs, or family relocation. Even shelters and rescues would be unable to rehome animals across state lines. The impact will be disproportionately felt by military service members, who are often relocated multiple times during a pet’s lifetime.

These amendments were not subject to committee hearings or stakeholder input, nor do they align with the stated purpose of the technology competition bills. Furthermore, a process already exists for the designation of species as injurious under the Lacey Act, one that requires scientific data and public input.

Myself, my family, and my employees (whose jobs would be terminated if these amendments are included in the final bill), therefore ask that you oppose any efforts to include these harmful Lacey Act amendments in the final reconciled COMPETES/USICA bill. Please stop Section 71102 of HR4521 from closing down my business, my livelihood, my conservation efforts, and the jobs of my employees. Thank you for your time and have a good day.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME

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