Thank you Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva, and members of the Committee for holding this hearing on much needed reforms to the Endangered Species Act.

I strongly believe that this straightforward legislation is a much-needed common-sense update to the ESA.

Quite simply, this bill seeks to correct the current Endangered Species Act anomaly that incentivizes attorneys to spend time in court arguing for inflated rates at the taxpayers' expense.

I can attest it does need reform.

If it truly is about protecting our flora and our fauna, then this reasonable reimbursement rate should be just fine.

I had three committees this morning, I am sorry. I am co-sponsor of that and it will help with the end of the practice of groups suing the Federal Government as a business plan.

For too long, litigating attorneys representing non-governmental entities have taken advantage of the Endangered Species Act, raking in millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded money.

This bill seeks to correct the current Endangered Species Act anomaly that incentivizes attorneys to spend time in court needlessly arguing.

H.R. 3131, the Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act, reforms the ESA litigation process while enhancing wildlife preservation, improving government efficiency, and protecting taxpayer dollars.

We support efforts such as the Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act (H.R. 3131) by Representative Huizenga to bring more equity into the litigation process.

But as Chairman Huizenga said, you always want to go back and you want to--in the Senate it was 98-0--you want to go back and you want to look at these things from time to time and do you want to say did they work?

The sad reality is that as we expand disclosures dramatically, it actually makes them less approachable for the everyday investor.

It seems like the time is ripe after 15 years to give it a thorough review.

I find it extremely concerning that the number of publicly traded companies is approximately half of what it was just 20 years ago.

I wholeheartedly understand and agree that the scandals leading into Sarbanes-Oxley required action.

I can tell you this. My nearly 86-year-old mother--please don't tell her I told you how old she is--doesn't have a broker on Wall Street.

I appreciate your answer, and thank you for being here.

As Keynes said, we are dead in the long run anyway, right?

Why would we keep trying this, certainly, at a minimum, underperforming system, if not failing system of stimulus, that is not reaching the people that it is intended to reach?

Something that I am very concerned about, and I know other members on this committee are, on both sides of the aisle, is income disparity.

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