Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, let me first say that I appreciate all the hard work that the gentleman and his committee have done on this measure. As the chairman knows, the recent listings of the nine salmon and steelhead runs in the Pacific Northwest as endangered has resulted in substantial delays in the processing of jeopardy reviews under the Endangered Species Act by the National Marine Fisheries Service. This backlog has already caused important local transportation projects to be delayed, and has even put Federal highway funding for some of these projects at risk of expiring. In some cases, such as the replacement of traffic lights in Richland, Washington, these projects have no discernible impact on endangered species. I know the gentleman shares my support for the measures, which will reduce this backlog within existing resources. The NMFS has previously entered into cooperative agreements with State agencies to use State employees to process these reviews more quickly. Will the chairman work with me to encourage NMFS to continue these efforts to reduce delays without increasing the number of NMFS employees?”