From USARK:
Congressional Budget Office to "Score" HR2811
USARK was selected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to be the primary provider of Reptile Industry economic impact information in regards to HR2811 aka ‘The Python Ban’. The CBO is a non-partisan government agency that analyzes the economic impact of all the bills Congress writes. Other industry members were also contacted by the CBO or USARK to get input on the economic implications of HR2811. The CBO is in the process of “scoring” the bill; that is they are making a report of their evaluation regarding the impact this bill will have on the American economy, federal agency budgets and taxpayers.
We expect that the “score” for HR2811 will be out by early next week. Upon the release of the CBO report there will likely be some kind of move on HR2811. It could go to a floor vote, or a hearing, or further amendment. Of course USARK is fighting for further amendment. The bill was amended in July after pressure from USARK to change the scope of the bill from the BAN of the entire genus python, to only the Burmese Python (P. Molurus Bivittatus) and African Rock Python (P. Sebae). We continue to lobby to further limit the scope of the bill to ONLY the IMPORT of these two species; allowing the captive bred trade in these animals to continue.
USARK did the best job possible with these economic numbers. The CBO only gave us two business days to get this done. Nevertheless we made our deadline and painted an accurate picture of the kind of damage this bill could do to the Reptile Industry, the economy and the taxpayers. It is more costly than they might have imagined. The coming days will be critical to the Reptile Nation. Please stay tuned. Join us on Twitter for fast breaking updates.
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