Political Quotes

“Today the Senate voted to end debate on S. 3525, the Sportsmen's Act of 2012. Along with 84 of my colleagues, I voted to support cloture in an effort to move this bill forward. It is a compilation of almost 20 different pieces of bipartisan legislation that are important to the sportsmen's community. The Sportsmen's Act will increase habitat conservation while improving access to recreational fishing and hunting lands. These are laudable goals that are worth supporting. However, the bill also contains troubling provisions allowing the importation of polar bear trophies and lead ammunition that I hope will be changed before final passage of the bill. In its current form, the bill would allow several hunters who killed polar bears in Canada before a ban was put in place to bring those bear hides back to the United States. This provision would reward hunters who unethically killed polar bears despite multiple warnings of an imminent ban on imports and the imminent listing of polar bears as an endangered species. If enacted, this provision could easily lead to outcomes that no one wants--it could increase demand for polar bear trophies and lead to more poaching or illegal trade of polar bear parts. It could also stimulate demand for other exotic and endangered animal parts from around the globe. That is why I am a cosponsor of Senator Kerry's amendment to remove this provision from the bill.…”