[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 208 (Wednesday, December 10, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H5120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              UNFAIR ENFORCEMENT OF ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

  (Mr. Bentz of Oregon was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call out the injury and 
injustice being inflicted on my State and my constituents by the 
inappropriate and unfair enforcement of the Endangered Species Act as 
it has been and is being applied to the reintroduction of the gray 
wolf.
  This injustice is apparent in the Federal Government's inability to 
manage and control the killing and maiming of livestock and in the 
failure of the government to properly pay the costs of its decision to 
reintroduce the wolf.
  I will address the lack of management first. Let me begin my 
discussion of failed management by showing several pictures, which are 
graphic illustrations of the reality that my ranching families face all 
too often.
  Mr. Speaker, as you can see, there is nothing refined about how a 
wolf goes about feeding itself. You can imagine the feelings of the 
rancher when he or she finds livestock torn apart and dying.

                              {time}  1045

  Mr. Speaker, these animals may have been part of the herd for a 
decade or more.
  We can try to imagine the incredible anger they feel, knowing they 
are legally prevented from stopping the wolf that caused this pain and 
horror to their cattle and calves from doing this again and again.
  I have held meeting after meeting across my district, listening over 
and over to stories about wolves attacking herds, scattering cattle, 
and ignoring the ineffective hazing efforts that owners of these cattle 
are allowed to use under the law to try to protect their livelihoods. 
The anger and intense frustration they feel is totally understandable. 
It is why I am on the floor today, sharing as best I can their pain 
with my colleagues.
  If we are to protect those who are trying their best to feed this 
country, to make a living, to keep their small and often remote 
communities viable, to put out range fires, to pay their taxes, and to 
continue to be productive parts of this Nation, we need to delist the 
wolf and move the management of these animals back to the States.
  Let me turn to the actual cost of the reintroduction of the wolf and 
the need for those who have created this cost to be responsible for 
paying it.
  The actual annual cost of the wolf, imposed upon the cattle 
businesses across this Nation, as of a few years ago is estimated to be 
$128 million a year. This number is higher now that cattle prices are 
higher. Many think the only cost of the wolf is the killing of 
livestock, but the impact of primal fear that cattle understandably 
feel when a wolf is near has dramatic and serious impacts on weight 
gain and on pregnancy rates.
  These losses are real, and they are serious. At a time when even the 
President is concerned about beef prices, these losses affect everyone 
by reducing the size of the cattle herds and their productivity.
  There has been legislation enacted, both in the One Big Beautiful 
Bill Act and at the State level, to try to bring some reimbursement 
equity into play by providing at least some payment for the death of 
cattle caused by wolves. These programs, although welcome, come nowhere 
near to making those damaged by wolves whole.
  In addition, I can assure everyone that the rancher would absolutely 
be happier if he or she could completely avoid the losses that lead to 
asking for justice under these programs.
  If we are properly, fairly, and logically to manage the wolf, we must 
pass Representatives Boebert and Tom Tiffany's bill, H.R. 845, the Pet 
and Livestock Protection Act. This would delist the wolf and allow 
States to manage these populations.
  If we are to properly allocate responsibility for the monetary costs 
of the wolf, those millions of dollars each year unjustly imposed on 
ranchers and farmers damaged by the reintroduction, we must appropriate 
the money needed to make these good people whole.

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