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 .  