HR 669 : CONGRESSIONAL HEARING BANNING NONNATIVE SPECIES APRIL 23, 2009 ACTION NEEDED

Cory Keeper said:
My local congressman (Rep Bob Inglis R-SC) is holding a town hall meeting this Monday, I'm going to point this bill out to him and ask him to vote against it. Again this is not a federal issue, this is a state issue.
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Since natural waters (rivers and the like) pay no attention to political boundaries, this really is a federal issue. Many rivers dictate political boundaries and where one state responsibly restricts certain animals and another does not, what does the state get that was responsible?....Animals the irresponsible state did not take action upon. Naturally a state several hundred miles upstream can greatly effect states downstream as well. Clearly this is an issue that cannot be (or at least has not been) handled on the state level.
 
Although I do wish to protect our natural waterways from non natives I think it would be much more beneficial to continue adding potentially harmful species to the "illegal" list rather than go through every single species imported and say "ya or nay" as to whether people can get them.
 
Urgent Letter to the Reptile Nation / HR669

Just got this in the email.

Urgent Letter to the Reptile Nation / HR669
Reptile Nation,

I know that we are facing dangerous and confusing times for the Reptile Community. Our end is upon us if we don't take decisive action to save ourselves. We have the power to decide our own future if we will only wake up and do what needs to be done!!

Thank you to those of you who have taken it upon yourself to take action. I know it has been frustrating. Congress is not set up to be reached by email. We have experienced broken links, constituent filters, blocks and deletions. But our opponents at HSUS lobbying for the bill have faced the same setbacks; although they have shown up in much larger numbers. As for the groups opposing the bill, USARK has generated the most contacts according to congressional staffers. But we must do much better or we will fail.

I just returned from a trip to Capitol Hill. Our lobbyist Tom Wolfe set up meetings with both sides of the Congressional Subcommittee considering HR669. We also did drop in visits to subcommittee member offices to make our case. Support was split down party lines. The Republicans support us and the Democrats oppose us. The Democrat side can win with a straight party line vote. The good news is that since meeting with USARK the Ranking Republican Rep Harry Brown, SC contacted me and has made this bill a priority. He has given us precise instructions on how to most effectively contact the subcommittee.

The Reptile Community must wake up or all will be lost. This is a huge mailing list. Yet only a few are taking action to contact the subcommittee. If everyone on this list did their part we would avalanche the subcommittee and make our point. We could kill HR669. We need to get off our lazy asses and start writing and calling the subcommittee members. The Hearing is on the 23rd of this month. That is all the time we have to save ourselves from being completely destroyed... and make no mistake, if HR669 passes the Reptile Community will be decimated overnight.

Rep Brown's office suggests we focus on direct contact with subcommittee members. That means written letters followed up by phone calls. They are telling us that email and fax are the least effective way to contact members... they get lost and deleted. We need to call and write. They are also saying to send the letters directly to our lobbyist and have him deliver them in mass to the subcommittee members. If you are focusing on other activities STOP until after you complete this important task. Start calling and writing. The Key is IN MASS!!! It has greater impact that way. The time is now to fight for your life. We must convince several Democrats to oppose HR669 to prevail.

This is what we need to do:

1. Write a letter to each member of the subcommittee. Click this link http://www.usark.org/uploads/hr669sample.pdf for the sample letter from our archive and names and phone numbers for committee members.
2. Label each envelope w/ the committee members name and your name and return address.
3. Put all these letters in a large manila envelope and send to: Tom Wolfe, 6246 Lee Hwy, Arlington, VA 22205
4. Call each member of the subcommittee- you will be speaking with staff. Let them know you Oppose HR669. Be civil, but tell them how this will effect you and your family.
5. Check where members are from. If any of the members are your district representatives, or are from your state, make sure they know you are their constituent.

If we are not annihilated by HR669 be prepared to do this over and over again. From now on political action will be needed regularly to maintain our rights. If you have not joined USARK please click the link on the bottom of the page and protect your rights. Please post this letter on every forum and social networking site you can think of.

Sincerely,

Andrew Wyatt

President USARK
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Here is another update from USARK.

Sample Letter HR669

Send Questions to President@USARK.org

Sample Letter: cut & paste to mail



Subject: No on HR669

Dear Committee Member,

Please oppose HR669. It is a fundamentally flawed Bill written by a radical environmentalist group that seeks to end the ownership and trade of all non-native animals. There is not a shred of scientific evidence to justify the destruction of a Reptile Industry that leads the world in producing and exporting high quality captive bred reptiles. With the stroke of a pen thousands of small American family businesses would be bankrupted overnight. With no quantifiable benefits, what could be the justification to destroy a viable sector of the American economy in a time of hardship?

What will the additional drain on taxpayer dollars be to grow USFWS at unprecedented levels in order to destroy American small business? These are not the "To big to fail" corporate titans, but small family businesses with their entire net worth wrapped up in their Reptile breeding projects and ancillary supporting businesses. A 3 billion dollar a year industry would be wiped out by HR669. Thousands of American families would suffer losing everything.

* Trade in Reptiles and ancillary businesses is estimated to be a 3 billion dollar a year industry.
* More than 9 million Reptiles are exported from the US annually.
* More than 11 million Reptiles are kept as pets in the US. That means 1 in 25 households have 1 or more Reptiles.
* The US accounts for 82% of the worldwide trade in Reptiles.
* At least 500,000 Americans would be negatively impacted by HR669. Thousands of small family businesses would be destroyed.
* There are approximately 4 million boas & pythons, as well as more than 7 million geckos, lizards turtles & other Reptiles in captivity in the US today.
* The United States Association of Reptile Keepers Opposes HR669.

Please oppose HR669! The costs to American Families would be enormous. The benefits are both questionable and non quantifiable. NO ON HR669.

Sincerely,
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I removed the Names and addresses of the Committee members since they are already listed in this thread.
 
Update from USARK Tom Wolfe USARK Lobbyist

Tom Wolfe USARK Lobbyist

Tom Wolfe has provided legislative and political counsel to candidates, and to corporate and non-profit organizations for over twenty years. His service has included working at the federal, state and local levels of government. He has directed winning candidate and issue campaigns from the courthouse to the White House across America.

As a public policy consultant, Tom has directed winning legislative and communications programs for non-profit and corporate clients. His work includes successful legislative and regulatory action on issues including transportation, finance and energy while working with clients such as Norfolk Southern, IMAX and Smith Barney.

As a presidential appointee to President George W. Bush, he directed the legislative and congressional affairs program for the National Park Service. Tom’s successes result from his insightful understanding of the legislative process, an understanding of the governmental process, a management style which values those who work with him, and a passion for our country. His time in Congress has enabled Tom to accumulate a significant “insider” network of influential opinion leaders.

Tom has served with distinction as chief of staff for two members of the leadership of the United States House of Representatives including the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Representative Jim Nussle. During that service, he conceived and directed the successful implementation of legislative, communications and political programs.

As chief of staff to House Republican Conference Chair Deborah Pryce, he was tasked to work with members of the House leadership which provided exclusive insight and education into the legislative process.

While directing political programs at the National Restaurant Association, Tom introduced new strategy and tactics resulting in record breaking success for activism, outreach and fundraising. The results doubled the size of the member grassroots network and tripled contributions to the political action program establishing the NRA-PAC as one of the nation’s fifty largest political action committees.

Tom is a former Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee. He directed national programs and staff in a six state region successfully delivering media, direct mail and telephone voter contact programs to hundreds of thousands of voters.

Born in Warren, Pennsylvania, Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from Ohio University and resides in Arlington, Virginia.
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well I'm not giving up my babies (2 dogs 1 guinea piggie 1 hamster and a tank full of critters) whatever!
 
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