[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 30, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E107-E108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 30, 2019

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I reintroduce the Wildlife 
Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act with Congressman Don Young (R-
AK), the Dean of the House.
  I thank Congressman Young (R-AK) for his support as my co-lead and 
original cosponsor on this important legislation, as well as our former 
colleague Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), who sponsored 
this legislation in the previous Congress.
  Around the world, poachers, traffickers, and transnational criminal 
organizations responsible for human rights abuses are driving iconic 
wildlife to extinction. The Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking 
Act advances American leadership in tackling this global crisis. Our 
bipartisan bill would strengthen federal enforcement against the global 
trade in illegal wildlife and seafood products, while also providing 
dedicated funding for conservation efforts, at no expense to taxpayers.
  Specifically, our bill would make serious wildlife trafficking 
violations predicate offenses under federal racketeering and anti-
organized crime laws (RICO and Travel Acts). The bill would also engage 
whistleblowers, through monetary incentives, in providing actionable 
intelligence needed to bring down global wildlife trafficking rings. 
Under our bill, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be authorized 
to station law enforcement officials and agency personnel abroad in 
high-intensity wildlife trafficking areas, as embeds in American 
embassies and consulates.
  Any penalties, fines, forfeitures, and restitution paid to the U.S. 
government for criminal violations of the federal organized crime, 
racketeering, and money laundering statutes for wildlife trafficking 
offenses would support conservation efforts. This provides dedicated 
funding for in-country conservation efforts for highly trafficked and 
endangered wildlife species, at no expense to taxpayers under our bill.
  Lastly, our bill includes provisions to crack down on illegal, 
unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by foreign vessels or 
fraudulent seafood imports into the United States. According to the 
U.S. State Department, IUU

[[Page E108]]

fishing often goes hand-in-hand with transnational organized crime, 
human trafficking and forced labor, and weapons and drug trafficking. 
American fishermen should never be expected to compete against 
fraudulent seafood imports harvested with slave labor, especially in 
the Indo-Pacific region.
  Madam Speaker, again I thank Congressman Young (R-AK) for his 
partnership as the original cosponsor on this important, bipartisan 
bill. I urge all Members to join us in cosponsoring the Wildlife 
Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act.

                          ____________________