Alan Simpson: “Mr. Chairman, this may be the most ill-conceived amendment that we have considered during debate on this bill. Some have…”

“Mr. Chairman, this may be the most ill-conceived amendment that we have considered during debate on this bill. Some have called this nothing more than corporate welfare. Well, I will tell my colleagues that in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, what the Federal Government has done, at a cost of $1 million apiece, is they have reintroduced wolves into the State of Idaho as 'nonessential experimental populations.' They are costing ranchers and farmers thousands and thousands of dollars. Not only are they costing ranchers and farmers money, they are decimating our elk and deer herds. Ranchers would like to take care of this problem themselves. Unfortunately, there are substantial penalties and fines involved. It has been said that the Fish and Wildlife Service does not use other nonlethal means of trying to maintain control of these predators. The fact is that we capture them, we trap them, we have taken them to other parts of the State, as far away as 300 and 400 miles; and we find that within 2, 3, 4 days, a week, they are back in their original location, oftentimes. In fact, last week I was in Idaho in the Saw Tooth Mountains, and I bought this book; and I would like to take just a moment to reintroduce my colleagues or introduce my colleagues to the Saw Tooth pack of wolves in the State of Idaho. Now, I have to admit, these are beautiful animals.…”