Statement by Mark Van Putten President and CEO,
National Wildlife Federation On Passage of the
Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) By the
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

This is a breakthrough vote that sets the stage for Congress to enact the most significant conservation funding legislation in the nation's history.

Moving CARA through the Senate committee is the political equivalent of storming the Normandy beaches on D-Day – there are still some final steps to go, but victory is in sight.

CARA supporters have understood all along that this vote would be one of our toughest hurdles, because the Energy and Natural Resources Committee is heavily weighted with members who are opposed to long-term funding for wildlife and wildplaces.

Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski and ranking minority member Jeff Bingaman made today's vote possible by successfully forging a bipartisan position on CARA. They, and the committee majority who voted for CARA, are to be commended for their commitment to staying the course.

The next step, once Congress returns from its August recess, is for the Senate leadership to make CARA's passage a top priority. We are confident there is a strong majority for the bill in the full Senate, just as there has been in the House, among all the state governors and the countless Americans whose grassroots support has brought the legislation to the edge of victory.