From: alra@governance.net
Subject: Pombo ESA Bill Passes House 229 to 193
Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association
PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973
E-mail: alra@landrights.org or alra@governance.net
Web Address: http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003
Congratulations – Pombo ESA Bill Passes House 229 to 193
A special thank you to so many who have worked so hard to get the Pombo
Endangered Species Act (ESA) bill passed in the House. You won by an amazing margin of 229 to 193. So many calls, letters, faxes and e-mails. A really great job.
Below is the official press release from the Resources Committee.
We’re a long way from done.
The next thing we must focus on is getting the ESA fixed in the Senate. That’s going to be a much tougher job. So get ready.
After that, will be the battle in the Conference Committee between the House and Senate.
So there is a lot of work yet to be done.
By winning with such a large margin in the House, it gives us more strength in the Senate.
*****
We have been contacted by a number of groups who wondered why they were not on the list of groups supporting the Pombo bill. We got our list from the Resources Committee. In the heat of battle, these things happen. If you want to be listed as we move toward the Senate, send an e-mail to ccushman@landrights.org “Put “Fix the ESA” in the subject line.
Action Items:
-----1. Call both your Senators to urge them to help pass a version of the Pombo ESA bill in the Senate. Any Senator may be called at (202) 224-3121.
-----2. Fax your Senator a message. Ask for his fax and e-mail when you call.
-----3. Letters are usually too late because of the Anthrax inspections. But you will have a little time before the Senate gets really active. Write a letter to each of your Senators at: Honorable US Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
-----4. Consider writing a very short letter to the editor of your local newspaper urging your fellow citizens to support fixing the Endangered Species Act. Keep your letter to now more than two or three paragraphs or it won’t get printed.
-----5. List your organization in support -- send back a note if your organization wants to be listed as supporting fixing the ESA in the Senate. Send your note to: ccushman@landrights.org Put “Fix The ESA” in the subject line.
-----6. Please forward this message as widely as possible.
_________________________________
For Immediate Release:
September 29, 2005
Contact: Brian Kennedy at (202) 226-9019
House Passes Historic Endangered
Species Act Improvement Bill
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act passes by a vote of 229-193
Washington, DC - For the first time in more than a decade, the House of Representatives passed legislation introduced by Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) and Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) to update and modernize the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act (TESRA) of 2005 has more than 96 cosponsors from 30 states across the country.
Born of the best intentions, the ESA has failed to recover endangered species while conflict and litigation have plagued local communities and private property owners alike.
TESRA fixes the long-outstanding problems of the Endangered Species Act by (1) focusing on species recovery (2) providing incentives (3) increasing openness and accountability (4) strengthening scientific standards (5) creating bigger roles for state and local governments (6) protecting private property owners and (7) eliminating dysfunctional critical habitat designations.
"During debate, the entire House of Representatives seemed to agree the ESA is in need of updates and improvements," Chairman Pombo said. "It's incredible how far we have come. But what surprised me most today was the strong ideological differences about whether or not homeowners should be compensated when their property is taken, as the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution requires. Upholding this right and partnering with the landowner is the only way we are going to improve the ESA's failing results for recovery. This legislation does just that."
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA):
"I co-sponsored the Endangered Species Recovery Act because I believe the ESA should be enhanced and refocused on its original goal - species recovery. Since the enactment of the ESA over 30 years ago, it has been diverted from that goal, and is increasingly driven by litigation, not science. I am confident that this bi-partisan bill will strengthen the ability of ESA to recover species, while reducing the burden on local economies and landowners."
Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV):
"The current law is simply not working. We all agree with the intentions of the Endangered Species Act, but out of the almost 1,300 species listed over the past 30 years, only 10 have been recovered and de-listed. A less than 1 percent recovery rate is unacceptable. We can and must do better. Today's bill will enable us to improve the dismal ESA track record with peer-reviewed science and collaborative efforts to protect and recover threatened species."
Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA):
"I am proud to support this common-sense reform legislation that will help communities and protect landowners. We need to update and modernize the Endangered Species Act to strengthen species recovery by building cooperation instead of fostering conflict. Passing the new legislation will remove burdens that have hampered job creation, community development and other improvements for the Inland Empire."
Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-WA):
"After 30 years we finally have a commonsense solution that will facilitate the relationship between protecting endangered species and using our natural resources and land. It is time to move away from burdensome regulations, lawsuits and punitive settlements and focus on using objective scientific standards, creating stronger roles for local and state governments, and increasing accountability."
Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR):
"It's time to make federal agencies charged with administering the law open up the process to the public. It's time to set standards to make sure the best possible scientific data available are used. It's time to ensure that states have a direct role in the process. It's time to reach out to private property owners, protecting their rights while encouraging participation in recovery efforts. And it's time to make sure that no region of the country ever suffers as the Klamath Basin did."
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT):
"For over thirty years the Endangered Species Act has suffered from many fundamental flaws, the most notable being a blatant disregard for property rights. Chairman Pombo's bill recognizes that as long as over 90 percent of endangered species are found on private lands, it defies logic not to compensate landowners' efforts to protect threatened and endangered species. I applaud its passage."
Rep. John Peterson (R-PA):
"This bill represents a real improvement on the current Endangered Species Act, which over the past 30 years has done more to harm the species recovery process than to help it," said Peterson. "I was glad to lend my support to this bill in the House, and I encourage our friends in the Senate to act upon it expeditiously."
Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY):
"The ESA has been on the books for more than thirty years, but in that time only ten out of more than a thousand species on the endangered list have been recovered. Instead of protecting threatened and endangered species, the ESA more often just creates litigation and endless bureaucracy. We know for certain that not a single species has ever been saved in a courtroom."
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA):
"ESA reform is long overdue. Today, the House enacted significant improvements to the ESA that restores balanced protections to species as well as landowners. This legislation improves and encourages habitat conservation plans by codifying the No Surprises assurance and eliminating unnecessary red-tape that required multiple consultations regarding already approved actions. These important provisions will free up limited government and landowner resources, and ultimately improve conservation of species habitat by encouraging more habitat conservation plans."
Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA):
"I commend my California colleagues, Resources Chairman Richard Pombo and Rep. Dennis Cardoza, for all of their hard work in drafting this crucial bill. I'm a cosponsor of this measure because it will lead to actual recovery of endangered species, improves protections for private property owners and brings commonsense to the ESA."
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