The undersigned Great Lakes organizations are writing to support the approach taken within the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2005 (S. 770, H.R. 1591, H.R. 1592) and express concern with the Ballast Water Management Act of 2005 (S. 363). We applaud your ongoing commitment to finding a comprehensive federal solution to the problem of invasive species in the Great Lakes and nationwide. While state and regional actions against invasive species vectors are critical to establishing a fully protective framework, we believe a coordinated, comprehensive, and national approach is the preferred long-term means of stopping new invasive species from penetrating U.S. borders. We have also attached recommendations from the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration process to strengthen several aspects of these important bills.