[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 102 (Friday, July 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO THE ALLIANCE FOR AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD W. POMBO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 19, 2001

  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, the Alliance for America (AFA) was organized 
in 1991 as a national non-profit grassroots coalition. Over the years, 
AFA has worked diligently to curb excessive government environmental 
regulations and to ensure the Constitutional rights of compensation for 
property owners.
  AFA networks its mission in fifty states working with hundreds of 
organizations with a combined membership in the millions. These groups 
represent a variety of vocational, cultural and political interests 
including: (1) farming; (2) ranching; (3) grazing; (4) forestry; (5) 
commercial fisherman; (6) mining; (7) recreation; (8) energy; and (9) 
animal welfare.
  In May 2001, AFA held its 11th Annual Fly-In for Freedom conference 
in Washington, DC. At the meeting, various measures were addressed and 
passed by the Alliance, including resolutions dealing with renewable 
whaling resources and the Marine Manimal Protection Act of 1972.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time, I hereby submit to the Record Record for 
my colleagues consideration two resolutions unanimously adopted by AFA 
at its conference--the Resolution on Renewable Whale Resources and the 
Resolution to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
  Let me conclude by saying that although there are many different 
opinions on these issues, I applaud the efforts of AFA and I truly 
believe they do make a positive difference in our society.

 Alliance for America, Fly-In for Freedom, Washington, DC, May 19-23, 
                                  2001


                RESOLUTION ON RENEWABLE WHALE RESOURCES

       Whereas, the United States recognizes the sustainable use 
     of renewable wildlife and marine resources under professional 
     and scientific management; and
       Whereas, the Law of the Sea, the United Nation's Earth 
     Summit and the Kyoto Declaration and Plan of Action on the 
     Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries to Food Security 
     recognize that marine resources are to be managed to secure 
     food for human nutritional needs as well as traditional and 
     cultural objectives; and
       Whereas, the Charter of the International Convention for 
     the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW recognizes that consumptive 
     use of renewable whale resources by ``proper conservation of 
     whale stock [to] make possible the orderly development of the 
     whaling industry,'' and
       Whereas, the Scientific Committee of the International 
     Whaling Commission (IWC), the governing body of the ICRW, has 
     stated that limited harvest of certain whale stocks is 
     scientifically justified and would have no adverse impact on 
     those populations, and
       Whereas, contrary to the mandate of the ICRW requiring a 
     scientific basis for action, in 1994 the IWC adopted as 
     Resolution to create a Southern Ocean Sanctuary and is 
     currently considering a proposal for the adoption of a 
     Resolution to create a Pacific Ocean Sanctuary, again, 
     without scientific justification; and
       Whereas, certain coastal and island nations are currently 
     undertaking legal limited harvests of non-endangered whale 
     stocks under scientific guidelines for valid scientific 
     research and for human food consumption, as these nations 
     have done for thousands of years; now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Alliance for America, representing over 
     ten (10) million American citizens, at its 2001 Fly-In for 
     Freedom Conference request the United States government:
       To recognize and support the cultural, economic and dietary 
     traditions of island and coastal nations who seek to 
     undertake limited harvests of non-endangered whale species, 
     and
       To be guided by scientific evidence in deliberations at the 
     Annual Meetings of the International Waling Commission and 
     the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on 
     International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 
     Flora (CITES) rather than following any unscientific 
     political policy; and
       To permit these sovereign nations to undertake limited 
     harvests of whales without the threat of economic sanction or 
     censure.

                                  ____
                                  

 Alliance for America 11th Annual Fly-In For Freedom, Washington, DC, 
                              May 20, 2001


                               Resolution

       The key observation arising from the Alliance for America 
     11th Annual Fly In For Freedom is that the promotion of 
     animal-rights beliefs has produced unacceptable consequences 
     that include ongoing violations of fundamental human rights.
       The representative of the Inuit people from Arctic Canada 
     has eloquently described how their culture, livelihoods and 
     society are being devastated by the animal rights-inspired 
     Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)--a law which contradicts 
     accepted principles of sustainable use and environmental 
     conservation.
       This outdated legislation arbitrarily bans the import of 
     seal products from an abundant species, and violates the 
     American ideal of individual freedom and the rights of the 
     people to self-determination, including the right to use and 
     trade abundant local resources.
       We believe that the American people would be shocked and 
     distressed to discover that the MMPA has so severely harmed 
     so many people and cultures. Indigenous people attempt to 
     live in harmony with the environment as active practitioners 
     of sustainable use. The MMPA disrupts this ecological 
     relationship.
       Seals are abundant in Arctic Canada and other regions and 
     provide a vital source of food in Arctic communities, but 
     provisions of the MMPA prevent Inuit and other people from 
     fully utilizing animals upon which they depend for their 
     survival, because trade is prohibited.
       Therefore this assembly of the Alliance for America:
       (I) Calls for the amendment of the MMPA to allow for the 
     import of seal products, to protect US commercial and 
     recreational fisheries, and to bring the MMPA into accord 
     with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered 
     Species (CITES) as implemented by the Endangered Species Act 
     and Agreements under the WTO; and,:
       (II) Resolves to work to inform the American public and 
     legislators about the injustice which has been done by this 
     law; and,
       (III) Calls upon all people and organizations that respect 
     human rights to join us in our efforts to right the wrongs 
     that have been done.

     

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