Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), the former ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, let's talk about what this rule didn't do. First off, ANILCA did not grant the State of Alaska any additional authority to manage wildlife on Federal lands. This rule is totally compliant with ANILCA. ANILCA actually prioritizes conservation of these species we are talking about here today, apex predators, on more than half the refuges in the State. As required by ANILCA, the rule ensures that national wildlife refuges--that is what we are talking about here, wildlife refuges-- conserve species and habitats in their natural diversity. That doesn't mean you kill the predators so that people who don't have good hunting skills are going to have an easier time getting a caribou or moose. That is not what this is supposed to be about on the national wildlife refuges. It actually prioritizes conservation of these species. I just heard that something about this will severely restrict hunting and fishing on these lands. Absolutely not true, unless you say shooting wolves and their pups in the den or gassing them in the den is hunting--and we are restricting that. Bears and cubs would be killed during hibernation, hunters crawling around killing bears during hibernation. No, hunters don't do that. Brown and black bears would be trapped, snared using steel-jawed traps, wire snares--again, not hunters, not sportsmen.…”