[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 89 (Monday, June 25, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H3470-H3472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2001

  Mr. GILCHREST. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 645) to reauthorize the Rhinoceros and Tiger 
Conservation Act of 1994, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 645

       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 ``Rhinoceros and Tiger 
     Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF RHINOCEROS AND TIGER CONSERVATION 
                   ACT OF 1994.

       Section 9 of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 
     1994 (16 U.S.C. 5306) is amended by striking ``1996 through 
     2002'' and inserting ``2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 
     and 2007''.

     SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

       Section 9 of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 
     1994 (16 U.S.C. 5306) is further amended--
       (1) by striking ``There are authorized'' and inserting 
     ``(a) In General.--There is authorized''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Administrative Expenses.--Of amounts available each 
     fiscal year to carry out this Act, the Secretary may expend 
     not more than 3 percent or $80,000, whichever is greater, to 
     pay the administrative expenses necessary to carry out this 
     Act.''.

     SEC. 4. COOPERATION.

       The Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 is 
     further amended by redesignating section 9 (16 U.S.C. 5306) 
     as section 10, and by inserting after section 8 the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 9. ADVISORY GROUP.

       ``(a) In General.--To assist in carrying out this Act, the 
     Secretary may convene an advisory group consisting of 
     individuals representing public and private organizations 
     actively involved in the conservation of rhinoceros and tiger 
     species.
       ``(b) Public Participation.--
       ``(1) Meetings.--The Advisory Group shall--
       ``(A) ensure that each meeting of the advisory group is 
     open to the public; and
       ``(B) provide, at each meeting, an opportunity for 
     interested persons to present oral or written statements 
     concerning items on the agenda.
       ``(2) Notice.--The Secretary shall provide to the public 
     timely notice of each meeting of the advisory group.
       ``(3) Minutes.--Minutes of each meeting of the advisory 
     group shall be kept by the Secretary and shall be made 
     available to the public.
       ``(c) Exemption From Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 
     apply to the advisory group.''.

     SEC. 5. PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY.

       Section 5(e) of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act 
     of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 5304) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(e) Project Sustainability.--To the maximum extent 
     practical, in determining whether to approve project 
     proposals under this section, the Secretary shall give 
     consideration to projects which will enhance sustainable 
     conservation programs to ensure effective long-term 
     conservation of rhinoceros and tigers.''.

     SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Conforming Amendments.--The Rhinoceros and Tiger 
     Conservation Act of 1994 is amended as follows:
       (1) Section 4(3) (16 U.S.C. 5303(3)) is amended by striking 
     ``Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund established under 
     section 6(a)'' and inserting ``the account established by 
     division A, section 101(e), title I of Public Law 105-277 
     under the heading `multinational species conservation fund' 
     ''.
       (2) Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 5305) is amended by striking the 
     section heading and all that follows through ``(d) Acceptance 
     and Use of Donations.--'' and inserting the following:

     ``SEC. 6. ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DONATIONS.''.

       (b) Technical Correction.--Title I of section 101(e) of 
     division A of Public Law 105-277 (112 Stat. 2681-237) is 
     amended under the heading ``multinational species 
     conservation fund'' by striking ``Rhinoceros and Tiger 
     Conservation

[[Page H3471]]

     Act, subchapter I'' and inserting ``Rhinoceros and Tiger 
     Conservation Act of 1994, part I''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands 
(Mrs. Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).
  Mr. GILCHREST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, the fundamental goal of this legislation is to extend 
the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994. Since 1977, all 
species of rhinos and tigers have been listed under our Endangered 
Species Act and on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade 
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which prohibits all 
commercial international trade in these species.
  Despite these protections, the population of these species continues 
to decline; and sadly, rhino and tiger body parts are still an active 
ingredient in Chinese traditional medicines sold throughout the world.
  One of the few positive developments for these species was the 
enactment of the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act. Since its 
establishment 7 years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has spent 
about $7 million on 111 conservation projects in 16 countries in Africa 
and Asia. These projects have monitored populations, equipped game 
scouts, and educated local communities as to the value of these 
keystone species.
  Without this act, these species would continue their steady slide 
toward extension. In fact, during our subcommittee hearing on H.R. 645, 
the World Wildlife Fund testified that there is little question that 
the U.S. programs for tigers and rhinos and elephants have helped to 
avert disaster for these species, even possible extinction in some 
areas.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 645 is a simple 5-year extension of this vital 
wildlife conservation law at existing authorization levels. I urge 
Members to support it.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I also rise in support of H.R. 645. 
I first want to commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest), 
the chairman of the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, 
and Oceans, and the ranking member, the gentleman from Guam (Mr. 
Underwood), for their leadership in international wildlife conservation 
and for introducing this legislation to authorize the Rhinoceros and 
Tiger Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2001.
  Madam Speaker, rhinos and tigers remain some of the most charismatic 
and endangered species of wildlife anywhere on the planet. All 
subspecies are listed as endangered on Appendix I of the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or 
CITES. They have also become emblematic of the great global 
conservation challenge of our time, and that challenge is how do we 
best rectify the demands of a growing human population with the needs 
of keystone wildlife species and the protection of their habitats.
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released a summary report 
concerning the Rhino Conservation Act, which succinctly captured this 
challenge in the report's introduction. Slightly paraphrasing the 
report, it reads as follows:
  ``Rhinos and tigers are included in the heritage of many cultures. 
They have made their way into storybooks, religions, medicines and ad 
campaigns. However, our attraction to these species and their habitats 
also threatens their existence. It has led to their killing for 
trophies and medicines and to the fragmentation and outright 
destruction of their habitat by people seeking timber and land 
resources. They are now among the world's most endangered species.''
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Guam (Mr. Underwood), the ranking member on the subcommittee.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me 
time.
  Madam Speaker, I want to express my thanks and my gratitude to the 
gentleman from Maryland (Chairman Gilchrest) for this particular piece 
of legislation and to reiterate my strongest support for this 
legislation, which basically is noncontroversial.
  In 1994, Congress passed the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act in 
recognition of the crisis that rhinos and tigers were faced with 
imminent extinction in the wild. With the passage of the act and the 
subsequent creation of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund, 
conservation activities have been initiated in cooperation with range 
states and non-governmental organizations across Africa, Southern and 
Southeast Asia, and the Russian Far East.
  Since 1996, the Fish and Wildlife Service has funded 105 grants 
totaling roughly a little over $2 million. Most importantly, these 
appropriated funds have leveraged almost $4 million in matching funds 
from cooperating partners. As a result, new conservation and research 
initiatives have been launched in Africa and Asia, including 
antipoaching and ranger-training activities, habitat surveys, enhanced 
surveillance and monitoring of illegal wildlife trade, establishment of 
wildlife compensation programs, and initiation of education and 
outreach activities on the village level.
  All of these efforts are making some very, very positive 
contributions in stemming the threat to rhinos and tigers; but much, 
much more needs to still be done. That is why we must support H.R. 645.
  This legislation would reauthorize funding through fiscal year 2007 
to support conservation projects administered through the Multinational 
Species Conservation Fund. H.R. 645 would also make two helpful 
modifications to the act to enhance sustainable long-term conservation 
efforts and to ensure more robust public participation by organizations 
actively involved in the conservation of rhinos and tigers.
  This legislation is noncontroversial. Every witness who testified 
before the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans 
on March 15 spoke in strong support for reauthorization, including the 
witness testifying for the administration. It was not surprising then 
that on May 16 the full Committee on Resources reported the bill by 
unanimous consent.
  Two weeks ago the House passed similar noncontroversial legislation 
to reauthorize programs for African and Asian elephants. This bill is 
no less important, and I urge all Members to support H.R. 645 so we can 
continue U.S. leadership in the global conservation of wildlife.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILCHREST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I would just like to close by saying that the world is 
growing a great deal smaller. As the population increases and our 
natural resources decrease, the frontier is gone. No longer can we move 
to another far-flung region of the Earth and find vast stretches of 
open space. So what we have left as far as our next challenge and our 
next frontier is an intellectual frontier to understand how we as 
humans can manage the diminishing resources with an ever-increasing 
population and preserve what my grandfather used to say was the majesty 
and the abundance of nature.
  Madam Speaker, this is a picture of one of the species we are trying 
to save, the magnificent creature known as the tiger. This is an 
article in ``Time Magazine'' dating back just a few years to 1994. 
There is a quote in here from Ullas Kranth of the New York Wildlife 
Conservation Society, who on a recent visit to India saw a tigress come 
and then quickly go. Then he smiled and he said, ``When you see a 
tiger, it is always like a dream.'' All too soon, dreams may be the 
only place where tigers roam free.
  Madam Speaker, this legislation is designed to make sure that tigers 
not only roam in our dreams, but actually roam in reality on the few 
stretches of

[[Page H3472]]

open space and habitat that they have left.
  Another quote from this article, ``What will it say about the human 
race if we let the tiger go extinct? What can we save? Can we save 
ourselves?''
  On behalf of the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood), the gentlewoman 
from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), and the staff on both sides 
of the aisle on the Committee on Resources, I thank all of them for 
their help; and I urge my colleagues to vote for this most important 
very tiny amount of money that can go a long way.

                              {time}  1415

  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 645, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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