Bruce Westerman: “I am glad that the gentleman from Oregon is so passionate about wolves, and this bill would be fantastic for him and his…”

“I am glad that the gentleman from Oregon is so passionate about wolves, and this bill would be fantastic for him and his State. It would allow their State natural resources folks to manage their wolves. They could release some in Portland. They could let those wolf populations get as large as they want to get. But the scientists at U.S. Fish and Wildlife have said that the species is recovered, and we are talking about letting other States have the opportunity to manage those wolf populations in their States. I wish we were doing a farm bill. I wish the Senate would do a farm bill, because we have already done one out of here. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers). Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, in my home in eastern Washington, we have been living the real impact of large wolf populations for many years now. We see the impact on safety. We see the economic impact it is having on our ranchers. Each year, we are losing hundreds of livestock to wolves and costing our economy millions of dollars. The gray wolf is recovered, and it is time for it to be removed from the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act has listed many species. This is not about a hatred or a fear of predators. This is about actually recognizing that the Endangered Species Act has done its job, and it is time for the wolf to be delisted. In the fall of 2013, the Obama administration announced that the gray wolf was recovered.…”