New York and Connecticut lawmakers are pushing again to halt the sale of Plum Island. The lawmakers want to make sure the island, which is home to several endangered species, remains undeveloped.
The federal government owns the island off of Long Island’s North Fork -- it’s been used for an animal disease research lab for 60 years. In 2008 Congress decided to move the lab to Kansas and sell Plum Island to the highest bidder. But the federal budget Congress passed in December contained more than $50 million for the Kansas lab. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) says he thinks that means the government shouldn’t go through with the sale.
“Congress has said, in effect, there’s no need for the sale. The reason for the sale has been made moot,” Blumenthal said.
That doesn’t mean the sale is off, but Blumenthal says he and other lawmakers will keep trying to block it. Members of Connecticut and Long Island’s congressional delegations are putting forward bills in the House and Senate to stop the sale, as they have done the past three years. Blumenthal says he doesn’t know yet if they have the votes to get the bill passed in the Republican-controlled Congress.
