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House Passes Paulsen Provisions Limiting Expansion of Asian Carp

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Reform & Development Act (WRRDA) in an overwhelming bipartisan vote to improve and modernize the nation’s water infrastructure systems. Included in the legislation is a bipartisan provision co-authored by Congressmen Erik Paulsen (MN-03) that instructs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to close the Upper St. Anthony Lock in Minneapolis within one year. Closing the lock will reduce the threat of Asian Carp travelling up the Mississippi River.

“Invasive Asian Carp continue to threaten the ecological and economic health of Minnesota’s waterways,” said Paulsen. “Closing the Upper St. Anthony Lock reduces the threat Asian Carp present to our thriving tourism industry and protects recreational opportunities in our rivers, streams, and lakes.”

In addition, the WRRDA bill also includes a provision establishing a multiagency effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey to slow the spread of Asian Carp in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins and tributaries. Paulsen was an original cosponsor of that legislation when introduced last year.

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Congressman Paulsen’s work in Congress visit paulsen.house.gov

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