I ask unanimous consent that the testimony from the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation expressing concerns and opposition to the proposed changes be entered into the hearing record.

the reason I bring this up is because I am from Oregon, and I watched the spotted owl situation.

I said, 'well, wouldn't the whale be safer if we just stopped all activity off the coast? Wouldn't the whale be safest if we just didn't allow any boating or any marine traffic whatsoever?'

I am much more interested in exactly how that money is being spent.

I will now recognize the second panel of witnesses: the Honorable Martha Williams, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, DC.

The status quo isn't working, at least in the Klamath, and I venture to say it is not working in other places throughout the West.

It is important that Congress exercise its oversight authorities over the executive branch.

People, including the agencies before us today, have to come to the table to help find lasting solutions.

I need the rules that reflect the procedure for imposing accountability.

Today's hearing is about protecting people's access to our natural resources and about modernizing slightly our government.

We have the money, big piles of it, but nothing--at least not enough--is happening.

That lack of respect is reprehensible. It needs to change.

There is huge concern that PacifiCorp, and the state of Oregon, and the state of California are trying to offload that incredibly large obligation on the taxpayers, and I just don't think that is right.

The dam is worn out, and it needs about, between $80 and $100 million worth of repairs.

I hope the Bureau is going to protect all of us taxpayers and the water users below that dam from the deferred maintenance costs of the dam.

Only 3 percent of listed species have been recovered, while existing listings and ESA regulations have been used as tools that many times harm communities.

What is really going on here? The question is what is going on on the 3 million acres that would be removed from this protection.

This hearing is a much-needed focus on how the ESA is or is not working.

This Administration has made matters worse by rewriting regulations on critical habitat and uplisting of species without appropriate safeguards.

I am grateful to be joined today by several Members who represent this region but who are not on the Natural Resources Committee.

California is obviously terrifically important to America--40 million people, 15 percent of the nation's GDP.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God.

Let me start again by thanking Representative Valadao and Representative Duarte for their help in organizing this important hearing.

Many of the problems that are suggested in that 30-year-old book have been appropriately addressed.

About 78 million people living within it have to, for the most part...store water to get through the spring, summer, and a portion of the fall months.