ASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jim Saxton (NJ-3rd) voted against H.R. 3824, the "Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act," (TERSA) because the bill threatens wildlife preservation provisions of the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) and would reduce future efforts to preserve areas that provide habitat to America's endangered and threatened wildlife.
"I believe that the Endangered Species Act will be undermined if this bill passes into law," Saxton said. "I opposed it in committee and I oppose it today. The proposed changes are geared toward federal recovery programs instead of wildlife habitat, and that is a mistake."
Saxton teamed up with highly-respected East Coast Republicans like Reps. Sherwood Boehlert of New York, Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland, Mike Castle of Delaware and Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and Democrat Reps. Sam Farr and George Miller, both of California, and other members, in offering an alternative to the bill. Congressman Saxton cosponsored the alternative bill that failed in a close vote, 206-216.
Taking to the House floor, Saxton cited the endangered species which have been protected in South Jersey that require preserved habitat to survive.
"In my district in New Jersey, we have bald eagles, timber rattlesnakes and barred owls because of the protections provided by the Endangered Species Act," Saxton told his colleagues. "I am concerned that the provisions contained in H.R. 3824 would profoundly alter that Act. It contains costly, highly problematic, vague new procedures and ill-considered tradeoffs that will undermine our ability to conserve fish and wildlife for future generations."
H.R. 3824 passed by a vote of 229-193. The bill now heads to the Senate. Breaking with House leadership, Saxton opposed the bill in the Resources Committee last week when it passed 26-12.
"This is not a Democrat or Republican issue; it's a wildlife issue," Saxton said. "TESRA relies on recovery programs that have no enforceable requirements. The key to saving threatened species is saving areas where they can live, find food and breed. Preserving habitat helps prevent the decline of a species, which is easier than waiting until a species is on the brink of extinction and trying to save it with a last-ditch recovery program."
Saxton said that H.R. 3824 weakens existing protections for endangered species, leaves open questions about how species would be listed in the future and establishes a new federal entitlement with few limits for spending taxpayers' money.
Saxton said that while there is broad consensus in Congress to improve the ESA, critical habitat provisions must be maintained. H.R. 3824, however, relies on unclear "recovery plans" that are hard to enforce and delay habitat protection until after a recovery is completed.
The bill creates an unprecedented entitlement to give taxpayers' money to property owners to adhere to existing federal law, by limiting the ability of the federal government to determine if a proposed use of the land would be realistic and what the dollar value of the proposed use would be. It requires payment even if a proposed use could be accomplished on a different portion of an individual's land. The federal government could even have to pay repeatedly for different potential uses of the same piece of property.
Saxton, a long-time voice on conservation issues, is the Vice Chairman of the Fisheries and Oceans Subcommittee, and from 1994-2000 was chairman of its predecessor, the Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee. He is the third ranking member of the House Resources Committee. He has pushed hard to fund and expand the National Wildlife Refuge System.
His district includes nearly half the 1.1 million-acre Pinelands National Reserve, three large bays, numerous rivers and barrier islands, and both commercial and recreational fish and shellfish industries.
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