mr. chairman , today i offer an amendment to appropriate funds for the eradication of noxious weeds . 
i first would like to thank the gentleman from texas ( mr. bonilla ) xz4000370 , the chairman of the subcommittee on agriculture , rural development , food and drug administration , and related agencies , as well as the gentlewoman from connecticut ( ms. delauro ) xz4001030 , for their leadership in what i know is a very difficult task of allocating funds within the budgetary restraints that we find ourselves . 
i would also like to thank their staff for their hard work and their efforts to accommodate my amendment . 
this amendment would allocate within the animal and plant health inspection service $ 15 million to fund the noxious weed control and eradication act of 2004 . 
this legislation , the act , was authorized for the past 2 years , but no funding has yet been appropriated to carry out the purpose of the program . 
the noxious weed control and eradication act passed the house in october of 2004 and allows the secretary of the department of agriculture to establish a grant program to control and eradicate noxious weeds . 
this legislation gives local weed management entities the ability to control local weed problems and provides the funding necessary for them to meet a very serious need in many places across the country . 
this legislation has broad bipartisan support and will benefit the entire nation . 
noxious weeds are a significant environmental and economic concern . 
i know from my own experiences in kansas , we have a difficult time controlling the very difficult and noxious weeds . 
sericea lespedeza is a weed that has invaded many acres of the foothills region of kansas , which contain some of the few remaining acres of native tall grass prairie . 
sericea lespedeza is just one example of many invasive species that create economic hardship across the country ; and by finally providing these funds , we can help in the battle to eradicate this and prevent a major outbreak of noxious weeds . 
this is a matter in which timing is critical ; and we need to give our communities , our local entities , and our farmers , landowners , the tools they need to manage our natural landscapes . 
mr. chairman , i thank my colleagues for the offering of this amendment . 
