Zeldin Reintroduces Plum Island Bill

Representative Lee Zeldin has reintroduced the Plum Island Preservation Act, a bill to prevent the sale of Plum Island by the government to the highest bidder. The bipartisan bill passed the House in May 2016, but the Senate did not act on it, necessitating its reintroduction.

The bill will commission the Government Accountability Office, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, which now owns the island, to formulate a plan for the island’s future. The legislation requires the plan to focus on conservation, education, and research, and include alternatives such as the transfer of ownership to another federal agency, the state, a local government entity, a nonprofit, or a combination. The act would suspend laws passed in 2008 and 2011 that mandated the island’s sale.