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Blumenthal To Reintroduce Bill To Stop Sale Of Plum Island

WSHU | By Anthony Moaton
Published August 9, 2017 at 11:36 AM EDT
Ed Betz
/
AP

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., says he’ll introduce legislation to permanently block the sale of Plum Island.

The 840-acre island is just off the tip of Long Island, not far from the Hamptons. It’s home to the Department of Homeland Security’s animal disease lab.

In 2008, Congress voted to move the lab to Kansas and sell Plum Island off to the highest bidder to pay for the new one. Blumenthal says since then, Congress has appropriated the money for the new lab, so selling it would be unnecessary.

The congressional delegations in Connecticut and Long Island have been fighting for years to preserve the island, which is home to more than 400 species of animals, including some endangered species.

The House passed a bill last month to stop the Island from being sold and developed.

Copyright 2017 WSHU
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Anthony Moaton
Anthony Moaton is a recent graduate from Oberlin College where he made his own major in Performance Studies. He comes to WSHU through the Newman's Own Foundation Fellowship, which gives recent college graduates an opportunity to spend a year working in a non-profit organization. He is excited to be working with and mentored by his amazing co-workers and to develop the skills and tools to become a more effective storyteller.
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