[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 98 (Monday, June 20, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4361-S4362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 502--DESIGNATING JUNE 20, 2016, AS ``AMERICAN EAGLE 
 DAY'' AND CELEBRATING THE RECOVERY AND RESTORATION OF THE BALD EAGLE, 
                THE NATIONAL SYMBOL OF THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 502

       Whereas the bald eagle was chosen as the central image of 
     the Great Seal of the United States on June 20, 1782, by the 
     Founding Fathers at the Congress of the Confederation;
       Whereas the bald eagle is widely known as the living 
     national symbol of the United States and for many generations 
     has represented values such as--
       (1) freedom;
       (2) democracy;
       (3) courage;
       (4) strength;
       (5) spirit;
       (6) independence;
       (7) justice; and
       (8) excellence;

       Whereas the bald eagle is unique only to North America and 
     cannot be found naturally in any other part of the world, 
     which was one of the primary reasons the Founding Fathers 
     selected the bald eagle to symbolize the Government of the 
     United States;
       Whereas the bald eagle is the central image used in the 
     official logos of many branches and departments of the 
     Federal Government, including--
       (1) the Executive Office of the President;
       (2) Congress;
       (3) the Supreme Court;
       (4) the Department of Defense;
       (5) the Department of the Treasury;
       (6) the Department of Justice;
       (7) the Department of State;
       (8) the Department of Commerce;
       (9) the Department of Homeland Security;
       (10) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
       (11) the Department of Labor;
       (12) the Department of Health and Human Services;
       (13) the Department of Energy;

[[Page S4362]]

       (14) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
       (15) the Central Intelligence Agency; and
       (16) the United States Postal Service;

       Whereas the bald eagle is an inspiring symbol of the spirit 
     of freedom and the sovereignty of the United States;
       Whereas the image and symbolism of the bald eagle has 
     played a significant role in art, music, literature, 
     architecture, commerce, education, and culture in the United 
     States, and on United States stamps, currency, and coinage;
       Whereas the bald eagle was once endangered and facing 
     possible extinction in the lower 48 States, but has made a 
     gradual and encouraging comeback to the lands, waterways, and 
     skies of the United States;
       Whereas the dramatic recovery of the national bird of the 
     United States is an endangered species success story and an 
     inspirational example to other environmental, natural 
     resource, and wildlife conservation efforts worldwide;
       Whereas, in 1940, noting that the species was ``threatened 
     with extinction'', Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.), which prohibited killing, 
     selling, or possessing the species, and a 1962 amendment 
     expanded protection to the golden eagle, thereby establishing 
     the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act;
       Whereas, by 1963, there were only an estimated 417 nesting 
     pairs of bald eagles remaining in the lower 48 States, with 
     loss of habitat, poaching, and the use of pesticides and 
     other environmental contaminants contributing to the near 
     demise of the national bird of the United States;
       Whereas the bald eagle was officially declared an 
     endangered species in 1967 under the Endangered Species 
     Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-669; 80 Stat. 926) in 
     all areas of the United States south of the 40th parallel due 
     to the dramatic decline in the population of the bald eagle 
     in the lower 48 States;
       Whereas the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) 
     was signed into law in 1973 and, in 1978, the bald eagle was 
     listed as ``endangered'' throughout the lower 48 states, 
     except in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and 
     Wisconsin, where it was designated as ``threatened'';
       Whereas, in July 1995, the United States Fish and Wildlife 
     Service announced that bald eagles in the lower 48 States had 
     recovered to the point where populations of bald eagles 
     previously considered ``endangered'' were now considered 
     ``threatened'';
       Whereas, by 2007, bald eagles residing in the lower 48 
     States had rebounded to approximately 11,000 pairs;
       Whereas the Department of the Interior and the United 
     States Fish and Wildlife Service removed the bald eagle from 
     Endangered Species Act protection on June 28, 2007, but the 
     species continues to be protected under the Bald and Golden 
     Eagle Protection Act of 1940 (16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.), the 
     Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), 
     and the Lacey Act and the amendments thereto (16 U.S.C. 3371 
     et seq.);
       Whereas the trained, educational bald eagle ``Challenger'' 
     of the American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, 
     was invited by the Department of the Interior to perform a 
     free-flight demonstration during the official bald eagle 
     delisting ceremony held at the Jefferson Memorial in 
     Washington, DC;
       Whereas experts and population growth charts estimate that 
     the bald eagle population could reach 15,000 pairs, even 
     though a physical count has not been conducted by State and 
     Federal wildlife agencies since 2007;
       Whereas caring and concerned agencies, corporations, 
     organizations, and people of the United States representing 
     the Federal, State, and private sectors passionately and 
     resourcefully banded together, determined to save and protect 
     the national bird of the United States;
       Whereas the recovery of the bald eagle population in the 
     United States was largely accomplished due to the dedicated 
     and vigilant efforts of Federal and State wildlife agencies 
     and non-profit organizations, such as the American Eagle 
     Foundation, through public education, captive breeding and 
     release programs, hacking and release programs, and the 
     translocation of bald eagles from places in the United States 
     with dense bald eagle populations to suitable locations in 
     the lower 48 States which had suffered a decrease in bald 
     eagle populations;
       Whereas various non-profit organizations, such as the 
     Southeastern Raptor Center at Auburn University in the State 
     of Alabama, contribute to the continuing recovery of the bald 
     eagle through rehabilitation and educational efforts;
       Whereas the bald eagle might have been lost permanently if 
     not for dedicated conservation efforts and strict protection 
     laws like the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 
     et seq.), the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 
     (16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 
     1918 (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), and the Lacey Act and the 
     amendments thereto (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.); and
       Whereas the sustained recovery of the bald eagle population 
     will require the continuation of recovery, management, 
     education, and public awareness programs to ensure that the 
     population numbers and habitat of the bald eagle will remain 
     healthy and secure for generations to come: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates June 20, 2016, as ``American Eagle Day'';
       (2) applauds the issuance of bald eagle commemorative coins 
     by the Secretary of the Treasury as a way to generate 
     critical funds for the protection of the bald eagle; and
       (3) encourages--
       (A) educational entities, organizations, businesses, 
     conservation groups, and government agencies with a shared 
     interest in conserving endangered species to collaborate and 
     develop educational tools for use in the public schools of 
     the United States; and
       (B) the people of the United States to observe American 
     Eagle Day with appropriate ceremonies and other activities.

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