The Obama administration has allowed a 'sue and settle' approach to dictate how Federal taxpayer-funded resources are used to prioritize endangered species activities.

It is important that Congress travel to listen firsthand how the Endangered Species Act impacts rural America.

It is my privilege to be here, and I am here largely because of the efforts of your congressman, Rick Crawford.

The goal of today's hearing is to ensure Federal Government accountability so that electricity ratepayers will have reliable and affordable power, and forests and nearby communities will be protected from avoidable catastrophic forest…

H.R. 4316, the 'Endangered Species Recovery Transparency Act,' sponsored by Mrs. Lummis, would require the administration to track and make available online the millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on ESA-related litigation.

Today marks the legislative phase of updating, improving, and modernizing the Endangered Species Act for the 21st century.

This is a good piece of legislation. I want to congratulate my colleagues from the western part of the State for introducing it and persevering on it. It is just one of those issues, as I mentioned in my opening statement, where we many…

This legislation simply requires that data used by Federal agencies for ESA listing decisions be made publicly available.

refusing to make tax-funded data available to the American public flies in the face of transparency and good science.

This bill would require that before any listing decision is made, the Federal Government must disclose all data used to States affected by such actions.

the Director of Fish and Wildlife acknowledged that there could be--and I will quote--'opportunities to make incremental improvements' to the ESA.

I have said it has never been my intent to introduce a sweeping overhaul of the Endangered Species Act.

This common-sense bill would help reduce the often current exorbitant taxpayer-funded fees, often upwards of $500 an hour.

I advise my friend from Arizona I am prepared to close if he is prepared to close.

The United States debt is currently $17 trillion. This places our economy and our livelihood for future generations at risk.

For years, Republicans have stressed the need to do more with less.

Unfortunately, the Settlement's flaws identified by tribal leaders and the major tribal associations in 2010 are causing real problems that we will hear about today.

Unfortunately, with a budget proposal as--higher than last year's enacted levels, I am afraid the Interior Department's budget misses the mark, and doesn't do enough to prioritize and reduce spending.

However, if the President continues to take a go-at-it-alone approach like he has been doing, our ability to collaborate and work with the Department, I think, will be sorely tested.

It must be pure coincidence that these good things began to occur only after the Department learned about this hearing.

In fact, the Cobell Settlement is merely the final version of legislation originally proposed in 2005.

I voted for the Claims Resolution Act, but it was with reservations.

Mr. Roberts says the Cobell Settlement legislation opened a new chapter . . .

For years Republicans have stressed the need to do more with less.

Unfortunately, with a budget proposal that is higher than last year's enacted levels, I'm afraid the Interior Department's budget misses the mark and doesn't do enough to prioritize and reduce spending.