Peter DeFazio

The only way forward is, in fact, a legislative fix?

It is our hope that the committee will consider this legislation in the very near future and send it to the Floor.

Unlike the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, neither the Port State Measures Agreement nor Representative DeFazio's draft bill entitled 'Pirate Fishing Elimination Act' provide for the identification of a nation as…

I very much appreciate your holding a hearing today on these three measures.

I look forward to hearing your testimony.

I think they need to move more promptly.

DeFazio, they are the trolls with the green eyeshades that hide under the bridges, and they come out and gnaw on your leg every once in a while.

We need to know what materials are being carried, and both obviously deal with operational issues.

Your actions are not going to change. You will continue to go for advice, voluntary compliance, and then negligence or knowing non-compliance will be the standard for prosecution.

It is my understanding there has been no prioritization.

Are you aware how many requests have been made by this committee to the Department of the Interior in this Congress?

And, in the case of Duke, did you extend special favoritism? It seems like the committee here is kind of on a rampage to have millions of prosecutions against every kind of energy development in the United States, because that is the only…

Criminal prosecution has always been and will always be our last resort.

The staff work required to respond to the committee's multiple requests is massive, and the cost of compliance with this subpoena is illustrative.

It seems that, in emphasizing that this is a strict liability statute, that the committee is urging that you should prosecute each and every one of those millions of takings against the oil and gas industry.

Do you prosecute each and every one of those against the oil and gas industry?

Our challenge has always been to implement these laws faithful to the original intent of Congress, while meeting the evolving needs of these species in the context of changing and expanding demands of human society.

These are the world's most highly trained wildlife law enforcement professionals, and right now they are sidelined while internationally syndicated criminal rings are decimating elephants, rhinos, and other iconic species.

Today's hearing marks the culmination of a long and fruitless crusade by the majority aimed at uncovering an Obama administration conspiracy.

There isn't a single directive, a single secretarial policy, a single email that shows there was any improper behavior or supposed favoritism toward the wind industry.

This hearing is yet another hearing attempting to find intentional disregard by the administration in areas where no evidence has been uncovered.

We are wasting millions and millions of taxpayer resources with these investigations.

They were diverted from catching people who were devastating elephant herds, rhinoceros, killing other endangered species around the world.

And did they pay a fine?

Detention time is really impactful on drivers, on driver safety, and, frankly, wastes almost $4 billion in industry efficiency.