{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://simpson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401939", "Chairman Simpson Hosts Roundtable on Preserving Birds of Prey Worldwide", "2026-04-16", "2026", "2026-04", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Michael K. Simpson", "S001148", "simpson.house.gov", "simpson", "https://simpson.house.gov/news", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014Today, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson\u2013Chairman of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee\u2013held a briefing on preserving birds of prey worldwide. Following the roundtable, members of Congress and staff were invited to stay for a demonstration featuring several live birds, including a Silvery Cheeked Hornbill, Eurasian Eagle Owl, White-naped Raven, King Vulture, African Fish Eagle, and more.\n\nThe bipartisan event featured Chris Parish, President and CEO of The Peregrine Fund, based in Boise, Idaho.\n\n\u201cIdaho has taken the lead in species recovery, particularly in preserving birds of prey, with many thanks to The Peregrine Fund. It has changed the paradigm of endangered species recovery and has continuously built on its successful track record of effective endangered species management. As a longtime advocate for preserving these beautiful birds, I was thrilled a fellow Idahoan, Chris Parish, could join for this informative and exciting briefing, and for numerous of my colleagues to see the beauty of exotic birds,\u201d said Rep. Simpson.\n\nBelow are excerpts from Rep. Simpson\u2019s prepared remarks:\n\nThe Peregrine Fund is a leader in birds of prey conservation and serves as a global expert on birds and their conservation. Located in Idaho\u2019s capital, The Peregrine Fund does exceptional work to support raptor populations and ensure their ecosystems thrive. Today\u2019s roundtable is an opportunity to discuss the work of The Peregrine Fund.\n\nThe federal investments we propose as appropriators matter to our communities. Some of the most successful and popular conservation programs funded in our Interior bill bring stakeholders together to support voluntary efforts across public and private lands.\n\nPrograms like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u2019s North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants and Joint Ventures program work as public-private partnerships to improve wetlands and working lands alike to conserve bird habitats. We also fund Recovery Challenge grants that have been used to support the recovery and reintroduction of raptors like those we will see today.\n\nBelow are excerpts from Chris Parish\u2019s prepared remarks:\n\nThe Peregrine Fund is dedicated to the often unseen, hard work of bringing listed species back from the brink of extinction, so that, in the language of this important Federal law, the protections of the ESA are no longer necessary.\n\nFor more than five decades, The Peregrine Fund has worked in partnership to conserve birds of prey worldwide.\n\nThe Peregrine Fund supports the Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Services in their efforts to propose regulatory changes that seek to make the delisting of species under the ESA. We believe it is time for ESA changes that are faithful to the statute and efficient.\n\nReforms should reward the conservation contributions of States, interested organizations, and the regulated community \u2013 especially where those commitments have succeeded in ensuring a species is no longer threatened or endangered under the Act. This is how the ESA was envisioned to function rather than what it has become: a never-decreasing repository of species destined to remain permanently listed. To that end, the Peregrine Fund recently filed comments supporting the Services to make delisting a more functional and workable process.", 1, "2026-04-17T05:47:03Z", "2026-04-17T05:48:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://simpson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401939"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2002249024808407, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}