Max Baucus: “Mr. President, as ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, I must oppose the Hutchison amendment.…”

“Mr. President, as ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, I must oppose the Hutchison amendment. The reason is really very simple. It is because the Endangered Species Act needs to be improved. That is the reason, so that farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and others have an easier time coping with the requirements of the act. But this is no way to fix it. At best, the Hutchison amendment is a makeshift stopgap measure that does not really solve the underlying problem. Let me repeat that: It does not solve the underlying problem. Once it expires, we are still faced with the problem. And worse, the amendment actually undermines our ability to make the act work while the situation deteriorates, deteriorates into false hope and false promises that things are going to be OK. Let me remind Senators of where things stand. In the last Congress, we held a series of hearings, an extensive series of hearings on the Endangered Species Act. We heard from a wide variety of people that were having problems from the act.”