[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H1744-H1746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1997

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 39) to reauthorize the African Elephant Conservation Act.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 39

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``African Elephant 
     Conservation Reauthorization Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF AFRICAN ELEPHANT CONSERVATION ACT.

       Section 2306 of the African Elephant Conservation Act (16 
     U.S.C. 4245) is amended by striking ``fiscal years'' and all 
     that follows through ``1998'' and inserting ``fiscal years 
     1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Saxton] and the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton].
  (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of this bill. Mr. 
Speaker, H.R. 39 was introduced by our full committee chairman, the 
gentleman from

[[Page H1745]]

Alaska, Don Young, and was cosponsored by our distinguished Speaker, 
the gentleman from Georgia, Newt Gingrich.
  The fundamental goal of H.R. 39 is quite simple: It is simply to 
extend the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to allocate 
Federal money from the African elephant conservation fund until 
September 30, 2002.
  At our subcommittee hearing in March we heard from witnesses 
regarding the various grant projects their organizations have sponsored 
to assist in the conservation of the African elephant. The results of 
these projects were discussed, and how additional funds authorized by 
H.R. 39 would be spent in the future.
  H.R. 39, I believe, Mr. Speaker, is noncontroversial. It is a 
conservation measure. It will help to save the flagship species of the 
African Continent. I ask all Members to join in supporting the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1815

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. ABERCROMBIE asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I, too, with the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Saxton], rise to support H.R. 39, the African Elephant 
Conservation Reauthorization Act of 1997.
  I might take a moment, Mr. Speaker, to ask the Chamber to reflect on 
the fact that not only does Mr. Saxton support this resolution but the 
gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Gingrich, the gentleman from Alaska, Mr. 
Young, myself and the gentleman from California, Mr. Miller, all 
support it. I do not know if we are ever going to achieve that position 
again.
  We may want to pause for a moment of silence at this point, reverence 
for the question of bipartisanship. It surely can take place and it 
does take place over the African elephant. I think we could probably 
extend that to the donkey and the elephant in the United States, but I 
am not sure about the former as opposed to the latter.
  In any event, Mr. Speaker, it is the African Elephant Conservation 
Reauthorization Act, and it is literally deadly serious business we are 
about on this floor today.
  I support the African Elephant Conservation Act and its purpose in 
perpetuating healthy populations of African elephants. I am concerned 
that other U.S. funded programs that may impact the African elephant 
may not be working towards this purpose as expressed by the act. I hope 
that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Agency 
for International Development will work cooperatively towards the ends 
of African elephant conservation.
  I appreciate the importance of the Speaker, the chairman and the 
subcommittee chair, the importance which the Speaker and the chairman 
and the subcommittee chair place on conserving African elephants, and I 
most certainly commend them for moving expeditiously to reauthorize the 
African Elephant Conservation Act.
  I would hope, Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, especially that the young 
people of this country would pay particular attention, given the fact 
that we have before us the situation with the panda at the Washington 
Zoo now undergoing an operation with species throughout the United 
States and the rest of the world in zoos finding themselves under 
extreme stress and duress. With populations of animals such as the 
elephant experiencing similar calamities and difficulties throughout 
the world, I think that it is incumbent upon us to help other nations 
and other people find ways to have conservation and preservation 
efforts be made manifest in more than just the abstract.
  We do not want to find ourselves reduced to finding reruns of 
National Geographic specials or Discovery Channel programs constituting 
or, for that matter, observing animal acts in Las Vegas as the sole 
preservation effort that is made by this species with regard to the 
rest of the species on the planet.
  This particular act, this reauthorization act, is a serious effort 
made on a bipartisan basis by serious minded Members who want to see to 
it that we set a standard; with this act we are doing it. If we can 
take similar measures with other species throughout the world, I look 
forward to the time when we can say with some confidence that we have 
made moves and taken steps to see to it that conservation is more than 
just a word.
  I commend the gentleman from New Jersey, [Mr. Saxton], for bringing 
this bill forward and am very grateful for the cooperation that he and 
the staff of the committee have extended on this bill and for all the 
Members who have expressed support.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
would like to thank the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie] for the 
bipartisanship with which we have been able to handle these two bills 
and the staff on both sides.
  I might say, Mr. Speaker, it appears to me like we are moving rapidly 
towards some other bipartisan agreements on some other bills that have 
to do with wildlife management on the domestic side.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SAXTON. I yield to the gentleman from Hawaii.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, under the question of wildlife 
management, perhaps we can get the Committee on the Budget members in 
and make an amendment to this resolution.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, we could certainly call on them for their 
cooperation.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman think he could get 
unanimous consent on that?
  Mr. SAXTON. The gentleman will be interested to know that we just 
held the second in a series of five hearings that had to do with how we 
were funding our wildlife refuge system. And we could use some help, I 
might say, from the Committee on the Budget with regard to some of 
those issues.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the African 
Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act (H.R. 39). This important 
piece of legislation will continue America's commitment to worldwide 
elephant conservation. I would also like to congratulate Chairman Young 
for bringing this important legislation forward.
  H.R. 39 will reauthorize the African Elephant Conservation Act 
through the year 2002. The continuation of this important and 
successful program will preserve America's leadership to conserve and 
restore African elephant herds in their native habitat. The future 
survival of African elephants depends upon America's leadership, and 
our small but crucial amount of financial support.
  The AECA has been responsible for rescuing African elephants from the 
path to extinction. As we all know during the 1970's and 1980's, 
African elephant populations declined from around 1.5 million to 
600,000 animals. Drought, shrinking habitat, and expanding human 
populations had some part in the decline of the population. But by the 
mid-1980's, rampant and efficient poaching of elephants for the world 
ivory trade was found most directly responsible for elephants' 
endangerment.
  The passage of the AECA reversed that downward trend of elephant 
populations. A large part of the success of the AECA comes from the 
effectiveness of the African Elephant Conservation Fund. This Fund, 
which is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
has provided nearly $7 million during 9 years to elephant conservation 
projects throughout Africa, through 66 grants to 50 projects in 17 
countries. Each of these projects has received matching support from 
organizations like Safari Club International, the Wildlife Conservation 
Society, the African Safari Club of Washington, DC, and others. Less 
than one half of this has been Federal funding. Our Federal commitment 
leverages and coordinates private sector support for elephant 
conservation.
  The focus of the conservation fund was originally on antipoaching 
efforts. However, in the last few years, the projects have focused on 
elephant population research, efforts to mitigate elephant/human 
conflict, investigations of the ivory trade, cataloging of ivory 
stockpiles, and identifying new techniques for elephant management.
  In addition the fund helps local villages, who often live in fear of 
elephants, to coexist and benefit from the long term conservation of 
elephants. This is an important step. As rural farmers in Africa begin 
to accumulate economic gains brought by the wildlife around them, they 
will find it in their best interest to conserve that same wildlife. In 
the long run, this will reduce the high cost of conservation and save 
elephants from extinction.
  Mr. Speaker, the African Elephant Conservation Fund has been a 
tremendous success. I encourage all my colleagues to vote

[[Page H1746]]

H.R. 39 and support this important and successful program.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, as the sponsor of H.R. 39, I rise 
in strong support of this important conservation legislation to 
reauthorize the African Elephant Conservation Fund. I am pleased that I 
have been joined in this effort by Speaker Newt Gingrich and our 
colleague from California, Duke Cunningham.
  For the past 9 years, this fund has been the only continuous source 
of new money for elephant conservation efforts. While the act 
authorizes up to $5 million per year, in reality the Congress has 
annually appropriated less than $900,000 to save and conserve this 
flagship species of the African Continent.
  This money has been used to finance some 50 conservation projects in 
17 range states throughout Africa. These projects have been sponsored 
by a diverse group of conservation organizations including the African 
Wildlife Foundation, Safari Club International, Southern Africa 
Wildlife Trust, and the World Wildlife Fund. These funds have been used 
to purchase antipoaching equipment for wildlife rangers, to establish a 
database on elephants, to develop effective conservation plans, to 
undertake various elephant population surveys, and to move elephants 
from certain drought regions.
  While the world community has been successful in halting the 
widespread slaughter of this magnificent animal, the fight to save the 
African elephant is far from over. It is essential that we extend the 
Secretary of the Interior's authority to allocate money for the African 
elephant beyond its statutory deadline, and that is the goal of H.R. 
39. In fact, my bill would reauthorize the African Elephant 
Conservation Fund until September 30, 2002.
  Last month, the subcommittee conducted a hearing on H.R. 39. 
Testimony was obtained from witnesses representing the administration, 
the Humane Society of the United States, Safari Club International, and 
the World Wildlife Fund. There was unanimous support for this bill, and 
the administration's representative accurately stated that ``this is 
not a hand out, but a helping hand.''
  This is a sound piece of legislation, and this small investment will 
help to ensure that our largest land mammal, the African elephant, does 
not disappear from this planet. It will also allow the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service to fund a number of additional elephant conservation 
projects in the future.
  I urge an ``aye'' vote on this important conservation measure.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 39 which 
continues funding for the African Elephant Conservation Act through the 
year 2002. Enacted in October 1988 in response to the alarming decline 
of African elephants, the act has made a significant contribution to 
the preservation of this threatened species. This legislation will 
allow these efforts to continue.
  The African Elephant Conservation Act has funded effective programs 
throughout 17 different African countries. Efficiently using small, 
strategically important grants, the act: enhances elephant conservation 
management programs; supports antipoaching training and operations; and 
develops sound scientific data on elephant populations. The act 
promotes range-wide efforts, as well as cooperative projects that 
provide for matching funds from a variety of other sources. All of 
these programs work toward the act's purpose of perpetuating healthy 
populations of African elephants.
  Despite the achievements seen so far, I am concerned about the 
coordination and management of U.S. funded elephant conservation 
efforts. Programs that impact African elephant populations are funded 
by both this act and the United States Agency for International 
Development, and it is not clear whether these efforts are mutually 
supportive. They should be. Furthermore, it is essential that 
innovative programs and management decisions are well grounded in 
science and sound management practices, and are effective in increasing 
elephant populations. We must ensure that all United States funded 
programs work toward the same ends--the conservation of African 
elephants.
  I appreciate the importance the Speaker, Mr. Young, and Mr. Saxton 
place on conserving African elephants, and I commend them for moving 
expeditiously to reauthorize the African Elephant Conservation Act. 
Their support of this legislation reflects the strong desire by the 
American public to preserve African elephants. By passing this 
legislation, and by continuing to monitor all U.S. efforts supporting 
elephant conservation, we can fulfill this desire.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kolbe). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 39.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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