[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 63 (Friday, May 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SUPPORTING THE NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENT ACT 
                                OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2006

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Improvement Act of 2006, 
introduced by my friend from Wisconsin, Mr. Kind. I was one of the 
coauthors of the original Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act 
in 2000, and I am very pleased to see this new legislation make its way 
through the process again. This has been a highly successful program, 
and its reauthorization will help to continue this record of success.
  The hundreds of species of birds that migrate through our Nation 
every year are facing urgent threats. Warblers, plovers, and kites were 
once common, but many species are now listed as endangered or are 
dwindling rapidly and will soon approach that point. The Neotropical 
Migratory Bird Conservation Act has greatly helped the effort to 
protect these creatures here and in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  Like the other multinational species conservation programs including 
the Great Apes Conservation Act--whose reauthorization is still 
pending--the Migratory Bird program has done an excellent job of 
matching public funds with private donations. In fact, this program has 
brought in more than $60 million in private sector funds to protect and 
restore habitat, to study species declines, to provide technical 
assistance, and to encourage public-private and international 
partnerships.
  Mr. Kind's legislation will enable the Interior Department to 
continue providing this much-needed funding to conservation efforts 
both in the United States and throughout the Americas. He has done an 
excellent job shepherding this bill through the House, and I am hopeful 
that the Act will soon be reauthorized.

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