mr. chairman , there is an old saying `` the south will rise again ! 
`` well , the bill before us today is proof the `` era of big government has come again ! 
`` let no mistake be made , those who support this bill can not claim to be dedicated to fiscal responsibility and smaller government . 
this bill blows another hole in the federal deficit . 
i oppose this sham overhaul of the endangered species act . 
enacted in 1973 , this landmark legislation has been hugely successful in saving many species from becoming extinct and has been an important conservation tool . 
the endangered species act must be strengthened not decimated . 
of the more than 1 , 800 plants and animals protected by the act , only 9 percent have been declared extinct . 
those species that have survived continue to grow and flourish . 
newly named , the threatened and endangered species recovery act ignores this success and carves out loopholes in the act that will allow developers and others to avoid the law 's protections . 
this legislation eliminates extremely critical habitat designations , giving many species no opportunity to survive . 
it is a travesty that the leadership in this house , is yet again giving business the upper hand over sensible and effective environmental protection law . 
private landowners will now have no incentive to protect their land . 
in fact , the federal government will now pay landowners for merely abiding the law ! 
mr. chairman , this act does not `` modernize '' or `` reform '' the endangered species act , it guts it and should be called the landowner and developer welfare act . 
