I applaud the efforts of Senators Crapo and Lincoln to improve the Endangered Species Act. Both have long been proponents of reauthorizing the law. Senator Crapo and I have been strong allies in updating the ESA in the past and I look forward to working with him, Senators Lincoln, James Inhofe and Lincoln Chafee as the Senate completes its work on the Act's reauthorization.

When Congress passed this law more than three decades ago, it was a first attempt at a species recovery law. However, Congress very rarely gets anything exactly right the first time around.

Now, more than ever we need to bring this 33-year-old law into the 21st century to ensure that America's species have the best chance of recovery.

The ESA must be updated to incorporate more than 30 years of lessons learned. It must be modernized to provide flexibility for innovation to achieve results. Senators Crapo and Lincoln realize this and have introduced legislation that provides for this innovation in some key areas of the law. First and foremost, ESA reform must change the Act's chief unintended consequences of conflict and litigation into real cooperative conservation.

I look forward to working with Chairman Inhofe and Subcommittee Chairman Chaffee as they move legislation to update and modernize the ESA.