National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Chairman, I have a colloquy on an amendment I intend to withdraw.

Mr. Chairman, we are facing a serious and growing national security threat in central Africa. Rebel groups, long active in the region, have taken on a new form of illicit activity to fill their coffers, and that form is poaching. On the black market, ivory from elephant tusks runs over $1,000 per kilo. Rhino horns are worth more than their weight in gold--$30,000 per pound.

The black market for wildlife is now in the league of drug smuggling. The low risk and high reward of poaching makes it ideal for criminal groups, but also for extremist groups. Indeed, groups like the Lord's Resistance Army, which the U.S. military is helping Africans to track down, and the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab are reaping the benefits by brutally slaughtering these majestic, defenseless animals.

These aren't your poor man's poachers either. Many poachers today are outfitted with night-vision goggles and sophisticated GPS equipment. They fly helicopters, slaughtering these endangered species from above.

A recent U.N. report cites an increase in advanced weapons used in poaching, which can be traced back to the fall of Qadhafi in Libya.

Earlier this year, testifying on worldwide threats, the head of our intelligence community noted that the multibillion-dollar industry of illicit wildlife trade ``threats to disrupt the rule of law in important countries around the world,'' and that this trade involves ``disparate actors--from government and military personnel to members of insurgent groups and transnational organized crime organizations.''

Unfortunately, African nations trying to fight off transnational poachers lack the capacity to address the problem. With relatively few security resources dedicated to combating them, poachers operate freely.

This amendment would have provided authority for the Defense Department to advise and assist Africans to suppress this illicit wildlife trade. AFRICOM is rightly involved in many of these regions, focusing on counterterrorism and on counternarcotics. Since these illicit activities are interwoven, this is an ideal area to further our cooperation with African partners, helping their stability, our security, and the chances that magnificent species aren't extinguished.

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Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentleman.

Chairman McKeon, I know you share my concern with this growing transnational threat of poaching. And I am hopeful that, looking ahead, we can work together to address any concerns that may exist and support a more aggressive U.S. commitment to this problem.

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