[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 66 (Monday, May 13, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S4981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COMMENDING ENDANGERED SPECIES NEGOTIATIONS

 Mr. REID. Mr. President, for the past 2\1/2\ years Congress 
has debated the reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act. The 
issues have been divisive and controversial. The issues have been so 
volatile that for over a year there was a moratorium on the listing of 
species, which the proponents argued was necessary to reform a flawed 
listing process. Obviously, others of us disagreed over the impact of 
the moratorium and we fought to have it repealed.
  Even more telling is the intense polarization that has existed among 
the many different interests, including large land owners, 
environmental groups, State and local governments, and public service 
organizations. For too long the disputing sides in this controversy 
have devoted more of their energies to furthering that polarization 
than to finding workable solutions to real problems.
  For the past 1\1/2\ years, I have indicated to the Environment and 
Public Works Committee chairman, Senator Chafee; the ranking member, 
Senator Baucus; the Drinking Water, Fisheries and Wildlife Subcommittee 
chairman, Senator Kempthorne, that I want to see the Endangered Species 
Act reauthorized with necessary reasonable reforms. Clearly as 
different pieces of legislation were offered in both Chambers of 
Congress, no progress was made for some time.
  However, in a Herculean effort, some organizations representing all 
of the many different perspectives and interests sat down in a series 
of meetings and have actually come up with a reform package to the 
Endangered Species Act. The following were part of the process, the 
Environmental Defense Fund, the Center for Marine Conservation, the 
World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy, the National Realty 
Committee, and the Western Urban Water Association, and two very 
significant companies, Georgia Pacific and Plum Creek Co. They were 
joined from time to time in their discussions by representatives of the 
International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Western 
Governors Association. These groups began their talks about the same 
time that we in the committee began our bipartisan discussions. I don't 
know at this point whether all that this private compromise 
accomplished will be incorporated into legislation; but I do know that 
their effort, in fact, assisted our process here.
  When Members of the Senate of opposite parties start meeting over 
legislation, we call it responsible compromise. When some of the 
private interests sat down to work out compromises on the Endangered 
Species Act, they were isolated and scorned by the right and left. 
Consequently, these groups have suffered because they tried to assist 
the larger public good. And isn't the public good exactly why we are 
here?
  Ultimately, the only way to overcome the polarization that has 
characterized this debate about the Endangered Species Act is to do 
what these folks have done. They reached across the considerable gulf 
that separates the environmental and regulated communities in a good 
faith effort to find common ground.
  Whether we are able to incorporate all of the substance that they 
arrived at is still uncertain, but I do know that it is true compromise 
and a respectable effort at finding consensus. This process these 
organizations have engaged in will be immensely helpful to Senator 
Chafee, myself, and others who are searching for good, creative ideas 
on this highly charged issue.
  So, I have committed myself to a sincere examination of their work in 
light of the negotiations we are conducting in the Environment and 
Public Works Committee. I hope that their good faith effort may be a 
model for dialog and communication to build the consensus necessary to 
build even stronger support for an effective endangered species 
conservation effort.

                          ____________________