[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H6467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     UPDATE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, when the Endangered 
Species Act was signed into law in 1973, its goal was simple: safeguard 
endangered species and assist in the recovery of their population.
  Until last week, no recent attempts have been made to reform this 
essential piece of legislation. Over the past several years, the 
Congressional Western Caucus has been working together to determine 
what parts of the Endangered Species Act are broken and to develop 
solutions to repair this law.
  The Endangered Species Act is in dire need of modernization and 
reform, which is why, last week, the Western Caucus, which I am proud 
to belong to, rolled out some solutions; among them is to address the 
broken litigation process that incentivizes litigation for profit at 
the expense of the taxpayer, address the lack of clear listing and 
delisting criteria, addressed the lack of transparency in Endangered 
Species Act decisionmaking and data collection, consider the needs of 
States more seriously, and address the unnecessary impediments to 
economic development and land management that affect endangered 
species.
  Mr. Speaker, as far as statutes that require costly litigation, the 
Endangered Species Act was the third most expensive for the Department 
of Agriculture and the most expensive for the Department of the 
Interior.
  Endangered Species Act litigation cost the Department of Agriculture 
and the Federal taxpayers $1.63 million from 2000 to 2010. It cost the 
Department of the Interior $22 million from 2000 to 2010, all at the 
expense of the taxpayer. These frivolous lawsuits have severe 
consequences on local economies.
  Additionally, the absence of State consultation weakens the overall 
data that can be used to justify the Endangered Species Act listings 
and recovery plans, a complete lack of transparency. State and local 
expertise is needed to strengthen and streamline the Endangered Species 
Act listing and delisting process.
  I am happy to say that these issues are addressed in some of the 
bills that were introduced last week. I proudly cosponsored a number of 
the bills that will make progress on this front, including the LOCAL 
Act, which was introduced by my colleague Scott Tipton. This bill would 
set up new incentives and opportunities for voluntary conservation by 
establishing a private party conservation grants program and a habitat 
conservation planning loan program for State and local governments. 
These programs will save the taxpayers money while boosting 
conservation.
  Mr. Speaker, we know that the majority of the recent species that 
have been delisted happened not as a result of the Endangered Species 
Act or the Fish and Wildlife Service, but through voluntary 
conservation with the leadership of the Department of Agriculture.
  The LAMP Act, introduced by my colleague Congressman  Don Young, 
permits the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative 
management agreements with States, local governments, Tribes, and other 
non-Federal persons in order to better manage species and improve 
habitat conservation. The bill also empowers States with robust species 
conservation programs already in place to take the lead in managing and 
preserving such species when meeting certain qualifying conditions.
  Mr. Speaker, these are just two examples of great pieces of 
legislation that have been introduced in the House to upgrade, 
modernize, and bring into the 21st century the Endangered Species Act.
  The Endangered Species Act is in dire need of modernization, and I am 
eager to work with my colleagues to address these needs and reform this 
outdated law. I urge my colleagues to examine these commonsense bills, 
look at the facts behind them, and cosponsor them today.

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