ACTION ALERT! Contact House and Senate Conferees to Remove COMPETES Act Section 71102.

The Senate and House of Representatives have identified conferees (members from both chambers) to reconcile the differences between the Senate’s legislation, S1260 U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and the House’s legislation HR4521 America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (COMPETES).

The House bill HR4521 includes Section 71102, Lacey Act Amendments. The National Aquaculture Association has posted an analysis of the potential impact of Section 71102 which can be found here: NAA-COMPETES-Act-Section-71102-Analysis-and-Recommendations.pdf (thenaa.net).

The National Aquaculture Association recommends that members contact their Senators and House members identified as conferees to communicate your opposition.

Prior to calling
1. Plan exactly what you want to say before you call – Message short and simple — tell them you are also sending written materials.
2. Never assume the Senator or their staff understands or knows about this specific issue.
3. Best to prepare written comments or notes to make sure you get key points mentioned.
4. Be short, clear, polite and to the point.
When you call (DC and the District Office)
1. Ask to speak with the staff assistant handling this issue — S1260 USICA and HR 4521 COMPETES Act Reconciliation.
2. Make sure to state if you are constituent – if not identify why calling mentioning any link you have with their state, such as work in their state.
3. End by asking that the Senator or House Member to not support inclusion of any amendments to Lacey Act without appropriate Committee hearings to evaluate the pros and cons of amending long standing provisions of the Lacey Act’s addressing injurious wildlife issues.
4. Always be courteous, polite and do not vent.
Follow up
1. Mail or send letter via email – letters have the most impact. Ask for an email address to attach letter or ask for FAX information. If you can only send an email, then format it so it looks like a letter.
2. Keep you written comments targeted on one or two pages at most.
3. Always keep in mind that the person you are communicating with very unlikely to be well-versed on the issue(s) and is overloaded and has limited time – so make sure they understand importance of letting the Senator or Representative know that your issue is extremely important.

When discussing with District Office also request an opportunity to meet with the Senator or the House member next time they are in your state, preferably at the District Office –AND if your request is granted – round up 3-6 like-minded individuals to accompany you.

ACTION ALERT! Contact House and Senate Conferees to Remove COMPETES Act Section 71102.

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