Speeches & Testimony

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2773, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. I thank the gentlewoman from Michigan, Congresswoman Dingell, and Chairman Grijalva for their leadership in moving this critical legislation through our Natural Resources Committee and to the Floor.

The world is in the middle of an extinction crisis and, unfortunately, my state is at its center. As a result of climate change, invasive species and other environmental stressors, our islands have earned the unfortunate distinction of becoming the endangered species capitol of the world. Of the 1,225 endangered species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nearly 500 are found in Hawai‘i. Just last year, nine more of Hawaii’s endemic species were officially reclassified as extinct.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will provide $1.3 billion in support to states, territories and tribes to address wildlife conservation. The estimated $60 million in annual funding to Hawai‘i will be essential to my state’s ability to save our imperiled biodiversity and will increase the chance that species like the ‘I‘iwi (a Hawaiian Honeycreeper), ‘Ōpe‘ape‘a (the Hawaiian Hoary Bat) and Kāhuli (Hawaiian tree snail) survive.

I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this legislation. I yield back. Mahalo.