{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221010308/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/bipartisan-congressional-leaders-urge-comprehensive-response-to-wildlife-trafficking", "Congressional leaders urge comprehensive response to wildlife trafficking", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 18, 2013\n                    CONTACT: Ian Koski at 202-224-5042\u00a0 \n\t\t\t\t\t Congressional leaders urge comprehensive response to wildlife trafficking \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Send bipartisan, bicameral letter to co-chairs of Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 A group of bipartisan leaders from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee have sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, and Attorney General Eric Holder urging the full use of available government resources to comprehensively combat wildlife trafficking. The letter was signed by Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs Chairman Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs Chairman Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Chairman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio).\n\u201cWe are writing to ensure that the National Strategy the Task Force produces is bold, goal-oriented and implemented through a whole-of-government approach,\u201d the members wrote. \u201cWe believe for the National Strategy to be effective it must include elements to dismantle illicit transnational networks, incorporate security and intelligence resources, and ensure local security forces have the capacity to combat poaching.\u201d\u00a0\nSecretaries Kerry and Jewell, and Attorney General Holder\u00a0are co-chairs of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, established by President Obama in July to develop a national strategy for addressing the growing problem of illicit wildlife trafficking. The task force, along with an Advisory Council made up of non-governmental experts, is working to enhance coordination among existing U.S. programs and policies to combat wildlife trafficking, and assist other nations to do the same. The national strategy is expected to be released in early 2014.\nDriven primarily by consumer demand in Asia, poaching of elephants, rhinos, and other wildlife across the globe has reached unprecedented levels in recent years. The crisis is particularly acute in Central Africa, where heavily armed poachers have decimated elephant populations, and in South Africa, which houses the continent\u2019s largest proportion of rhinos. Profits from the multi-billion dollar wildlife trade are frequently funneled to transnational crime syndicates, whose activities threaten to disrupt the rule of law in developing countries across the globe.\u00a0\nTo combat these illicit networks, the members emphasized that U.S strategy must \u201cidentify steps to build capacity of law enforcement systems in key countries, including the training and equipping of government eco-guards and rangers, and use of technological innovations.\u201d \u201cTo ensure effectiveness,\u201d the members wrote, \u201cprograms must include methods to aggressively deal with the pervasive corruption that prevents effective wildlife law enforcement in many countries. Another portion of the strategy should focus on building prosecutorial, judicial and investigative capacity to prosecute wildlife crime cases more effectively.\u201d\nThe text of the letter is below. It can be downloaded as a PDF here: http://1.usa.gov/1bdssQZ\nDecember 17, 2013\u00a0\nThe Honorable John F. Kerry \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0  Secretary of State \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0  U.S. Department of State \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0  2201 C Street, N.W. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0  Washington, DC 20515 \u00a0\nThe Honorable Eric H. Holder  Attorney General  U.S. Department of Justice  950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.  Washington, DC 20530 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\nThe Honorable Sally Jewell  Secretary of the Interior  U.S. Department of the Interior  1849 C Street, N.W.  Washington, DC 20240\nDear Mr. Secretary, Mr. Attorney General, and Madam Secretary:\nAs Co-Chairs of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, you are charged with developing and implementing a National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking. As you are well aware, the current poaching and wildlife trafficking crisis is severely impacting communities and species globally and has become within our national security interest to help quell. We appreciate the efforts thus far of the Task Force to respond to Executive Order 13648.\nWe are writing to ensure that the National Strategy the Task Force produces is bold, goal-oriented and implemented through a whole-of-government approach. An important objective of the Task Force is to create greater coordination between existing activities of the various agencies working on wildlife trafficking, while also bringing new agency partners to the table to strengthen the U.S. Government response. We also believe for the National Strategy to be effective it must include elements to dismantle illicit transnational networks, incorporate security and intelligence resources, and ensure local security forces have the capacity to combat poaching.\u00a0\nThe linchpins of illegal wildlife trafficking are the large-scale criminal syndicates that enjoy significant profits because of the strong demand for rhino horns and elephant tusks. These criminal organizations most often utilize existing drug, arms, and human trafficking networks and infrastructure to successfully move wildlife products to market. We must combat wildlife trafficking networks with similar methodologies, tools, and resources as other illicit networks.\u00a0 An effective National Strategy must include strong elements aimed at breaking up these wildlife networks, with a focus on high-level personnel within the networks, as well as clear and measurable indicators to measure progress.\u00a0\nThere are clear connections between criminal wildlife trafficking activities and threats to national security interests in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. General James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, noted in his March 2013 Worldwide Threat Assessment that \u201cillicit trade in wildlife\u2026threatens to disrupt the rule of law in important countries around the world. These criminal activities are often part of larger illicit trade networks linking disparate actors \u2013 from government and military personnel to members of insurgent groups and transnational organized crime organizations.\u201d Given the evidence and implications of this connection, we would like to see the National Strategy actively engage and utilize the security and intelligence resources of the U.S. Government in providing solutions. The scale of criminal financing through wildlife trafficking operations has risen to unprecedented levels, and the National Strategy should strive to employ the best intelligence, data, and technology at our disposal in order to combat it.\u00a0\nAdditionally, the National Strategy should identify steps to build capacity of law enforcement systems in key countries, including the training and equipping of government eco-guards and rangers, and use of technological innovations. To ensure effectiveness, programs must include methods to aggressively deal with the pervasive corruption that prevents effective wildlife law enforcement in many countries. Another portion of the strategy should focus on building prosecutorial, judicial and investigative capacity to prosecute wildlife crime cases more effectively.\nAs you enter the final stages of developing the National Strategy, we urge you not only to rely on traditional conservation approaches but to produce a strategy that strongly reflects the criminal, financial, and security aspects of wildlife trafficking and contains ambitious measures to address them. Failure to do so will inevitably limit the effectiveness of the U.S. response and do little to properly combat wildlife trafficking and poaching.\nWe thank you for your leadership on this issue and for your attention to our suggestions. We look forward to reviewing the forthcoming National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking and working with you on this critical issue going forward.\nSincerely,\nCHRIS COONSChairmanSubcommittee on African AffairsCommittee on Foreign RelationsUnited States Senate\nEDWARD R. ROYCEChairmanCommittee on Foreign AffairsU.S. House of Representatives\nBEN CARDINChairmanSubcommittee on East Asian and Pacific AffairsCommittee on Foreign RelationsUnited States Senate\nSTEVE CHABOTChairmanSubcommittee on Asia and the PacificCommittee on Foreign AffairsU.S. House of Representatives\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n                    \n        \n        \n\t\t\n                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags:\n                            \n                                \n                                Foreign Relations Committee,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Africa,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Technology,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                National Security,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Trade,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Conservation,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Law Enforcement,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Subcommittee on African Affairs,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Department of Justice,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Wildlife,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Department of the Interior,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Foreign Relations", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://web.archive.org/web/20140221010308/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/bipartisan-congressional-leaders-urge-comprehensive-response-to-wildlife-trafficking"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7781039457768202, "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"}