Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I submitted an amendment to the amendment to make sure that that would not happen. We allow emergency listings if there…”

“I submitted an amendment to the amendment to make sure that that would not happen. We allow emergency listings if there really is a danger of losing any animal or any species that is under the old act. Let us look at what the Reid amendment does. You have heard people on the other side argue that there are problems with the act, but nevertheless they are urging you in the Reid amendment to go forward under the old act which we acknowledge has problems, regardless of the fact that it costs people jobs, that it hurts the economies of many States, and that it takes away a fundamental constitutional right in this country, and that is the right to private property. That is wrong. It would be ridiculous for the Senate to vote today to go forward, take away jobs, hurt the economy, and take away private property rights under an act which everyone has acknowledged has problems. If we are sincere about doing what is right, if we are sincere about reauthorizing the bill with some common sense, with some protection for private property, if we are sincere about making sure that private property rights and people's jobs have some part in the equation in the decisionmaking, then we should vote for the Hutchison-Kempthorne amendment.”