mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time , and i thank him for his extraordinary leadership on behalf of the american people in terms of the air they breathe , the water they drink , in protecting god 's beautiful gift to us , this beautiful legacy that we have in our environment , and i commend the ranking member , the gentleman from west virginia ( mr. rahall )  , for his leadership as well .  he has been a champion as well in this area .  mr. chairman , i rise in opposition to this legislation which would critically undermine protections for our nation 's endangered species .  i support the bipartisan substitute that the gentleman from new york ( mr. boehlert )  is putting forth with the gentleman from california ( mr. george miller )  , and commend them for this good proposal because it provides common sense proposals to strengthen the endangered species act , and yet give a common sense enforcement to it .  i rise as house democratic leader , of course , in support of the substitute , but i also rise as a mother and as a grandmother ; mother of five and grandmother of five .  my husband always says i just like to know how long into a speech it is before you start talking about your grandchildren .  but we teach our grandchildren , and i did teach my children when they were little , that everything in nature is connected and that there is a reason , a balance to it all , this beautiful web of life that is nature .  today 's bill of course in this debate points out what value we place on that .  with the passage of the first endangered species law in 1966 and the modern endangered species act in 1973 , congress made a commitment to future generations of americans , at that time that would be our children , my grandchildren .  we made a commitment to maintain the web of life and preserve the myriad species that form an essential part of our natural heritage .  we must keep that commitment for the sake of our children and our grandchildren .  the endangered species act is a safety net for wildlife , fish and plants that are on the brink of extinction .  when other environmental laws have not provided enough protection , the endangered species act is there to give endangered species one last chance to survive .  of the 1 , 800 species protected by the law , only nine species have been declared extinct .  an impressive achievement .  earlier in the debate , i heard the gentleman from washington ( mr. dicks )  speaking , and i see he is still in the chamber , and i thank him for his very enlightening presentation about how many species have been saved during the life of this law .  that was very inspiring and encouraging .  the safety net saved our majestic national symbol , the bald eagle , and the peregrine falcon .  it saved the florida manatee , the grizzly bear , the southern sea otter , sea turtles , and many other animals and plants , all important in the balance of nature .  on the floor of the house , week after week , month after month , the republican leadership pushes through legislation shredding the safety net for children , for veterans , for the elderly , for the poor , for the sick and the disabled , so it comes as no surprise today that they bring a bill that will shred the safety net for the endangered plants and animals .  this is really unfortunate , because , again , it all relates to the balance of nature .  we find these words from the psalms : `` how many are your works , o lord !  in wisdom you made them all ; the earth is full of your creatures .  there is the sea , vast and spacious , teeming with creatures beyond number , living things both large and small. '' in wisdom god has made them all `` living both things both large and small , '' and in wisdom we should preserve and protect them .  we have yet to learn the roles that many creatures play in the web of life , and we are yet to discover the practical effects many species may bring to humankind .  one example in california is the pacific forest yew .  once considered virtually useless , a trash tree , became extremely valuable as the source for the anti-cancer drug taxol .  many of us have dear friends or family members whose chances of survival have been increased by the use of taxol .  the bill we consider today is loaded with provisions that will make it harder to preserve endangered species .  it undermines sound science by directing the secretary of the interior , a political appointee , to issue regulations locking in a static definition of specific acceptable scientific data .  it repeals all protections from pesticides , it drops the requirement for other federal agencies to consult with wildlife experts at the fish and wildlife service or the fisheries experts at the national marine fisheries service .  it establishes an extraordinarily new entitlement program for developers and speculators that requires taxpayers to pay them unlimited amounts of money , and the list goes on and on .  reasonable people agree that there are ways to improve the endangered species act .  many people who care very , very much about the environment , about the balance of nature , about the web of life have concerns about the enforcement .  i think that is why it is important for congress to be very clear what our intent is , so that intention of congress and that clarity of our voices here will give guidance to those who enforce the law so that is the implementation and the execution of it is not in a way that is so risk averse as to be counterproductive .  we can do better than the current law , but it is hard to do worse than the legislation being proposed by the gentleman from california ( mr. pombo )  .  that is why my colleague , the gentleman from california ( mr. george miller )  , joined by a group of members and also the gentleman from new york ( mr. boehlert )  , taking the lead on the republican side , have developed a substitute to this bill that gives landowners assistance and incentives to protect endangered species , strengthens the science behind the endangered species act , and requires improved coordination with the states .  i urge my colleagues to strengthen the endangered species act by voting for a bipartisan substitute and opposing the underlying bill , and in doing so , to truly , as members of congress , show our children that we mean it when we say that we all know that everything in nature is connected and it is important to maintain the balance , the web of life .  in isaiah in the old testament , we are told that to minister to the needs of god 's creation , and that includes our beautiful environment , is an act of worship .  to ignore those needs is to dishonor the god who made us .  let us minister to the needs of god 's creation .  let us support the substitute and oppose the underlying bill .  