Sam Farr: “earlier in the year, Department of Defense (DOD) approached Congress with a request to exempt itself from several…”

“earlier in the year, Department of Defense (DOD) approached Congress with a request to exempt itself from several fundamental environmental laws in order to strengthen military readiness. At the time this request shocked most of us, because the readiness of our military is the best in the world but that the state of some of our natural resources are not. Things went from bad to worse when the House Armed Services Committee reported out a bill that went way above and beyond what DOD had originally asked for. H.R. 1588, the fiscal year 2004 defense authorization bill, contains provisions that fundamentally change the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), two major pieces of legislation that directly affect my home district in California. There are many species listed under ESA in my home district. These include the California condor, which has been through an intense reestablishment program, the San Joaquin Kit Fox that lives on Fort Hunter Liggett, steelhead trout that breed in our rivers and streams, and the snowy plover which nests on our beaches. The continued existence of many of these species relies on the designation of 'critical habitat,' which is basically the homes and breeding grounds that are necessary for their survival.”