Jared Huffman: “I thank the gentleman from Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill for a number of reasons, but I would…”

“I thank the gentleman from Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill for a number of reasons, but I would specifically like to address how the bill undermines science. Congress enacted the ESA to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats in the U.S. and abroad. Congress also recognized that scientists, not Members of Congress--even me, ones like me with political science degrees--scientists have the necessary expertise to make decisions about species' protection. So the ESA requires that the Fish and Wildlife Service make the decisions regarding species listing and delisting. The law entrusts the Service's scientists to determine what is best for imperiled species, such as the gray wolf, using the best available science. The ESA is credited as being one of the most science-based laws on the books, but this bill completely eliminates scientists from the decisionmaking process. It mandates that all gray wolves be removed from the ESA in the lower 48. In doing so, it short-circuits the law's science-based process that determines when species have recovered and when protections are appropriately removed. {time} 0930 Despite years of Republican efforts to ignore the science behind the ESA, we know it has been a huge success. Ninety-nine percent of listed species have continued to survive, and 90 percent are on schedule to meet their recovery goals.…”