Political Quotes

“Today, we are witnessing an unprecedented extinction crisis with 1 million species at risk of disappearing forever in coming decades. As the co-chair of the Endangered Species Act Caucus, protecting our Nation's wildlife is one of my top priorities. I am deeply concerned that the provisions included in this bill will cause our country to backtrack on the progress we have made. That is why I have to be opposed today to the bill on the floor, the so-called Pet and Livestock Protection Act. There has been a lot of discussion about the gray wolf. Let's talk about the listing of the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act. While progress has been made in certain regions, the reality is clear: Gray wolves have not yet achieved full recovery, and removing Federal protections would be premature and dangerous. Today, wolves occupy only a fraction of their historic range. Large areas of suitable habitat remain unoccupied, and many existing populations are small, isolated, and genetically vulnerable. True recovery under the Endangered Species Act requires not just survival in a few regions, but long-term security across a significant portion of the species' range. We also know from experience what happens when protections are lifted too soon. After previous delisting efforts, several States moved quickly to authorize aggressive hunting and trapping seasons. In some cases, wolf populations declined sharply within 1 single year.”