[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NORTHERN LONG-EARED BAT RULE

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, last Friday, I, along with 
15 fellow House colleagues, called upon the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service to provide flexibility with the agency's proposal to 
list the northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act.
  Back in December, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the 
northern long-eared bat as threatened under the Endangered Species Act 
through a special 4(d) rule, which would provide exemptions for certain 
activities if they met prescribed conservation activities.
  Apart from forest management, the initial rule did not specify which 
activities would be granted exemptions. Because this species of bat can 
be found in 38 States, including all of Pennsylvania, a broad 
Endangered Species Act listing would have far-reaching impacts upon the 
States and permissible land uses.
  Mr. Speaker, listing the northern long-eared bat as endangered has 
never been warranted. Since day one, the Fish and Wildlife Service has 
repeatedly acknowledged the underlying cause of population decline is a 
disease--white-nose syndrome--not habitat loss through human activity.
  Rather than limiting commerce and land use activities--impacting jobs 
and local economies--the Fish and Wildlife Service should focus their 
efforts on combating white-nose syndrome.

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