Asian Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2007

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 31, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., in open session (and possibly closed session) to consider the following nominations:

Admiral Michael G. Mullen, USN for reappointment to the grade of Admiral and to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and General James E. Cartwright, USMC for reappointment to the grade of General and to be Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 31, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``The State of the Securities Markets.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 10 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The hearing is on the nominations of Vice Admiral Thomas J. Barrett, USCG (Ret.), to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Mr. Ronald Spoehel, to be Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Rear Admiral William G. Sutton, Jr., USN (Ret.), to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Mr. Paul R. Brubaker, to be Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 2:30 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The purpose of this hearing is to examine three major consumer protection and fraud prevention issues under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission: 1. The effectiveness of the national Do-Not- Call registry and current legislative proposals to improve the Do-Not- Call Implementation Act of 2003; 2. The effectiveness of CROA and possible legislative initiatives to clarify the language of the act; and 3. Telemarketing fraud, particularly against older Americans.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on renewable fuels infrastructure.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in order to conduct a business meeting.

The meeting will consider the following agenda:

Bill to reauthorize the provision of technical assistance to small public water systems, S. 1429; Ban Asbestos in America Act, S. 742; Toxic Right to Know Protection Act, S. 595; California waiver decision deadline bill, S. 1785; National Infrastructure Improvement Act, S. 775; The Multinational Species Conservation Funds reauthorizations, HR 5O and HR 465; The Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1498; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Resolutions; Nomination of Robert Lyle Laverty to be Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, U.S. Department of the Interior; Nomination of Robert Lance Boldrey nominee for reappointment to the Board of Trustees for the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``Carried Interest, Part II.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. in order to hold a hearing on nuclear energy and nonproliferation challenges.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Evaluating the Propriety and Adequacy of the Oxycontin Criminal Settlement'' on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building room 226.

Witness list:

Panel I: John L. Brownlee, United States Attorney, Western District of Virginia, Roanoke, VA;

Panel II: Marianne Skolek, LPN, Myrtle Beach, SC; Vikramaditya Khanna, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, MI; Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D., Director, Public Citizen's Health Research Group, Washington, DC; Virginia Pagano, Police Officer, Philadelphia Police Department, Narcotics Bureau, Philadelphia, PA; Jay P. McCloskey, Former U.S. Attorney, Maine, McCloskey, Mina, Cunniff & Dilworth, LLC, Portland, ME; James Campbell, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, July 31, to conduct a hearing on DoD/VA collaboration and cooperation and the education needs of returning service members. The committee will meet in Dirksen 562, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 31, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights be authorized to meet on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 at 10 a.m. in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Leegin Decision: the end of the consumer discounts or good antitrust policy'' in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Witness list: Pamela Jones Harbour, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission Washington, DC; Robert Pitofsky, Sheehy Professor of Antitrust Law and Regulation, Georgetown University Law School, Washington, DC; Marcy Syms, Chief Executive Officer, SYMS, Secaucus, NJ; Stephan Bolerjack, Attorney at Law, Dykema Gossett PLLC, Representing the National Association of Manufacturers, Detroit, MI; and Janet L. McDavid, Attorney at Law, Hogan & Hartson, Washington, DC.

Mr Speaker, as the author of this legislation, I am pleased the House is now considering H.R. 465. This simple non- controversial legislation will extend the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund at existing authorization levels of up to $5 million each year until September 30, 2012.

During our public hearing on H.R. 465, the Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers this Fund, testified that: ``The Asian Elephant Conservation Act has greatly enhanced the conservation status of the Asian elephant''.

There are currently only about 40,000 wild Asian elephants living in south and southeastern Asia. As a result, this species is listed on our Endangered Species Act, on Appendix I of CITES and on the World Conservation Union's Red List.

In response to the ongoing slaughter of this keystone species, Congress adopted the Asian Elephant Conservation Act which I was pleased to sponsor in 1997. In the decade since its enactment, the Secretary of the Interior has carefully reviewed over 300 conservation projects designed to save Asian elephants for future generations. The Secretary has approved 183 of these grant proposals which

have received $9 million in Federal funds and $11.3 million in private matching funds.

As every witness testified, there is an overwhelming need to extend this important conservation program and there is no question that these conservation funds have had a profound impact on protecting this irreplaceable species. While everyone enjoys seeing elephants at the National Zoo, it is far more important that they continue to exist in the wild in Burma, India and Thailand. The road to extinction is a one- way street and we must work to ensure that the Asian elephant does not make that journey.

I am proud to urge my colleagues to vote ``aye'' on H.R. 465, the Asian Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act. It is an appropriate and sound investment of U.S. tax dollars.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 465) to reauthorize the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, Congressman Jim Saxton, for introducing H.R. 465, the Asian Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2007. H.R. 465 would authorize the Asian Elephant Conservation Act through fiscal year 2012. This law authorizes grants to be issued for the survival of the Asian elephant in the wild.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the status of the Asian elephant remains tenuous. Fewer than 4,000 Asian elephants are found throughout the forests and savannas of South Asia. Approximately 16,000 of these animals are held in captivity. The captive elephants are used to assist people in timber harvest, forest clearing and agriculture. In the wild, populations remain under heavy stress from several factors, especially habitat loss and deforestation.

Since the first grant was awarded in 1997, more than $10.3 million in matching contributions or in-kind support have been generated by leveraging the $7.8 million contribution made available by the Congress.

Funding supports cooperative conservation projects that protects Asian elephants and their habitat by providing scientific research, law enforcement and education.

I support this noncontroversial bill, and again commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton), the author of the original Asian Elephant Conservation Act, for his unwavering commitment to international wildlife conservation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 50, the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes the African Elephant Conservation Act and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act through 2012, and in support of H.R. 465, the Asian Elephant Conservation Reauthorization Act. These conservation funds have a tremendous impact on the survival of threatened species.

The ivory and bushmeat trades, as well as competition from humans for space and resources, continue to threaten the survival of the African Elephant. Rhinos and tigers similarly fall victim to these black market trades. In addition, deforestation and overworking have had devastating impacts on Asian Elephant populations. The grants awarded through the MSCF have proven to be effective in creating nature reserves, enhancing wildlife and ecosystem management, and developing antipoaching campaigns, helping to combat the practices that endanger these species the most.

As of January, the Department of Interior had approved 280 conservation grants in 23 African countries to assist African elephants, 321 grants for rhinos and tigers, and 171 grants for Asian elephants. By using $17 million in federal funding, the African elephant program has leveraged $72 million in private matching funds, and the rhino and tiger program has generated nearly $20 million in private funds to match its federally allocated $7.8 million. The Asian elephant program has been almost as successful, leveraging $10 million in private matching funds from $7.8 million in federal funding.

H.R. 50 and H.R. 465 would reauthorize the Multinational Species Conservation Fund to support three important international conservation laws and help to protect these animals on a federal level. I strongly urge their support.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 323, H.R. 465.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, without further intervening action or debate.