[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 123 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            21ST CENTURY ENDANGERED SPECIES TRANSPARENCY ACT

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                               speech of

                  HON. HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 29, 2014

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4315) to 
     amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require 
     publication on the Internet of the basis for determinations 
     that species are endangered species or threatened species, 
     and for other purposes:

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I oppose H.R. 4315, the so-called 
``Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act,'' which is an 
overt assault on the Endangered Species Act designed to weaken its 
protections and guarantee the likelihood of extinction for wildlife, 
plants, and fish.
  The Endangered Species Act is one of the Nation's most important 
environmental laws. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon over 
forty years ago, the Endangered Species Act continues to serves as an 
effective tool for protecting our wildlife, plants, and fish from the 
brink of extinction.
  To ensure enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, Congress 
empowered citizens to bring enforcement actions to hold parties 
accountable for violating the law or to compel the government to 
protect endangered species. Importantly, the law does not provide for 
rewards of damages for the citizen bringing the suit. Rather, the 
Endangered Species Act allows for courts to award reasonable attorneys' 
fees to parties that substantially prevail on the merits.
  Congress has long recognized the importance of encouraging citizens 
to bring meritorious claims under the Endangered Species Act that they 
would otherwise abandon due to the financial costs of hiring competent 
counsel. Many other federal statutes contain similar enforcement 
mechanisms that encourage citizens to act as a private attorney 
general.
  The Supreme Court has likewise observed in numerous contexts that if 
private citizens are to enforce laws against ``those who violate the 
Nation's fundamental laws are not to proceed with impunity, then 
citizens must have the opportunity to recover what it costs them to 
vindicate these rights in court.''
  Contrary to the stated goal of H.R. 4315 to ``standardize the 
awarding of attorneys' fees to prevailing parties against the federal 
government,'' this legislation is a thinly-disguised effort to prohibit 
litigation by citizens and public-interest groups.
  By eliminating the possibility of reasonable attorneys' fees, this 
bill creates yet another hurdle that will make it more difficult to 
find competent legal representation to enforce complex environmental 
laws.
  Reasonable attorneys' fees are particularly appropriate for complex 
and highly specialized adjudications involving environmental law. 
Environmental groups are almost uniformly non-profit organizations. 
Many file lawsuits for injunctive relief to enforce laws and protect 
the public health. But as a result of this bill, many of these 
organizations will be deterred from bringing such actions if they 
cannot recover attorneys' fees.
  For these reasons, a broad coalition of interest groups--including 
Alliance for Justice, Public Citizen, American Association for Justice, 
Sierra Club, and dozens of other environmental, civil rights, and civil 
liberties organizations--oppose H.R. 4315.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose this misguided legislation.

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