Daniel Akaka: “for the last year or so, both the House and Senate have been working on legislation that would reauthorize the…”

“for the last year or so, both the House and Senate have been working on legislation that would reauthorize the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has reported legislation offered by my colleague from Idaho, Senator Kempthorne, that would modify the Act in significant ways. Although it is unlikely that we will take up this bill in the short time remaining to us, I would like to make a few observations about the Endangered Species Act and what it has meant to Hawaii, home to more endangered species than any other state or territory within the United States. Mr. President, as legislators, we are guardians of our Nation's rich natural inheritance; in this capacity, we cannot afford to squander the ecological legacy we leave to our children. Surely, part of our concern for rare species and ecosystems is the simple realization that once they are gone, we would have failed in our stewardship responsibility. Hawaii is poised on the brink of irreversible ecological change, and it is important that wise stewardship decisions be rendered to preserve our unique, tropical ecosystem.”