GOP finds Republicans favor ESA as much as Democrats

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1995:

WASHINGTON D.C. – – Con-
gressional momentum toward dismantling
the Endangered Species Act markedly
slowed in November, after House
Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged to
media that the Republican majority
“messed up on the environment” by seriously
misreading the public mood.
Gingrich was particularly rattled
by a T i m e/CNN poll conducted on
September 27-28, which showed that
63% of self-described Republican voters
and 67% of independents oppose legislation
to “reduce protection for endangered
species”––putting support for the
ESA at the same level among Republicans
as among Democrats.

According to a November 21
bulletin from the Endangered Species
Coalition, “The rewrite of the
Endangered Species Act sponsored by
Reps. Don Young (R-Alaska) and
Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) remains stalled
in the House with the holiday recess
approaching. It has been widely suggested
that Gingrich will keep the legislation
from coming to the House floor until
next year,” to “give him time to resolve
differences between Republican members
from the Northeast,” where Rep.
Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) leads a
growing pro-ESA faction, “and those
from the West and South,” the bastions
of the wise-use movement.
“Leadership is not going to
stand by and let the extremists carry the
day on environmental policy,” pledged
Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.)
An early December hearing
was meanwhile expected on S1365, a
ESA rewrite similar to the Young/Pombo
bill, introduced on October 25 by
Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho).