Rubio and Scott target invasive species that threaten Florida

Florida lawmakers have consistently maintained that environmental concerns are a top priority in the sunshine state.

Last week, Florida Senators Marco Rubio (R) and Rick Scott (R) directed a letter to Sonny Perdue, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary. The lawmakers asked him to reverse the Department’s decision to allow citrus imports from China, citing the negative effects “from citrus greening, a disease which originated in China, and spread to the U.S. from imported citrus.”

Now, the Florida Republicans have introduced the Suppressing Looming Invasive Threats Harming Everglades Restoration (SLITHER) Act, which would authorize and direct the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force to develop innovative environmental technologies that would approach and identify, target and eliminate any invasive animal or plant species that threaten Everglades restoration.

In introducing the legislation, both lawmakers released statements discussing the motive behind the legislation and the effects it would have on the environment.

In his comments, Rubio highlighted that “Everglades restoration is critically important to the State of Florida,” adding that “the SLITHER Act will allow the federal, state, tribal, and local partners on the Task Force to collaborate and innovate in new ways, as we identify and eliminate invasive species that threaten the effective restoration of South Florida’s ecosystem.”

Furthermore, “this will not only promote ecological health, it will also make it easier to measure the progress of state and federal investment in Everglades restoration.”

Senator Scott informed that the lawmakers have “successfully fought to fund projects that preserve and protect our Everglades, including repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike and the EAA Reservoir, but this incredible progress is threatened by invasive species.”

As Senator Marco Rubio concluded, both lawmakers “remain committed to fighting for legislation that protects, improves and restores Florida’s water quality and environment, so that Florida’s ecosystems can be preserved for generations to come.”