Okay people, listen up, here we go. This is Nature's
Secret Service, the podcast that puts you in
the room with the men and women of wildlife law
enforcement. I'm your host, Ed Newcomer, and
I was a special agent for the U .S. Fish and
Wildlife Service for more than 20 years. Today,
I'm bringing you another bonus episode to bridge
the gap between seasons two and three. Season
three is shaping up, and I think it's going to
be a good one. I hope you'll tune in and help
the podcast grow by telling your family, friends,
and coworkers about it. and then trapping them
in the car with you while you force them to listen
to an episode or two. On January 21st of this
year, 2026, I was invited to testify before Congress.
I was one of four witnesses who appeared before
the House Natural Resources Committee to talk
about wildlife trafficking and how it impacts
the security of the United States. Although I
was originally going to edit the hearing so that
you'd hear only my testimony, A trusted listener
and fan encouraged me to replay the entire hearing
so that you, the loyal listeners of this podcast,
could get a feel for the whole picture. Especially
of interest to me was the crazy guy next to me
who was advocating for the legalization of the
rhino horn trade. That issue is so important,
it just might become the topic of a future episode.
Okay, sit back, put your feet up, get yourself
an icy cold Coke, and be prepared to be lulled
to sleep by the excitement of a congressional
hearing. Thanks for listening. I therefore ask
unanimous consent that all other members' statements
be made part of the hearing record, as they are
submitted in accordance with Committee Rule 3
-0, without objection to order. I ask unanimous
consent that the following members be allowed
to sit and participate in today's hearing. The
gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Azell. The gentleman
from Iowa, Mr. Miller -Meeks. The gentleman from
Pennsylvania, Mr. Joyce. And the gentleman from
Illinois, Mr. Quigley. Any additional last -minute
waivers, waive -ons here? Without objection,
so ordered. I now recognize myself for my opening
statement. Good afternoon, everyone. Sorry you
were waiting. We just had votes and I've got
two hearings and I'm running back and forth.
So, all I think of witnesses for traveling to
Washington, D .C. to testify before the committee
today for a very necessary conversation regarding
national security implications of the international
conservation and environmental crime. When someone
mentions international conservation, the first
thing that comes to mind is not transnational
criminal organizations or terrorist groups. But
increasingly, these criminal networks and nefarious
actors are using environmental crime to fund
their organizations and inflict violence across
the globe. Environmental crime is the world's
fourth largest crime sector, generating hundreds
of billions of dollars in revenue annually. Compared
to narcotics and human trafficking, Wildlife
trafficking is met with much less stringent enforcement,
and many of our enemies around the globe have
taken note and are starting to stick their finger
into this pie. Whether it's cartels such as Sinaloa
or Newt de la Hasco, and Latin America and Al
-Qaeda and ISIS affiliates throughout Africa
and the Middle East, or China's exploitive deep
water fleet operating across the high seas. America's
adversaries have taken advantage of the low -hanging
fruit that is environmental crime. To make matters
even harder to follow, wildlife trafficking is
utilized by cartels and Chinese -affiliated organizations
as a form of money laundering. Cartels will barter
wildlife products such as the rare hardwoods,
like today's most trafficked wildlife commodity,
rosewood, or other animal products, which are
often sold as luxury goods. or used in traditional
Chinese medicines with Chinese groups in exchange
for precursor chemicals used in the production
of fentanyl. Essentially, these trafficked goods
coming from endangered species are being used
to fuel the opioid epidemic that has gripped
our country, all at the fault of China. Across
the globe in the Central African Republic, Russia's
Wagner Group has secured a 30 -year -long logging
concession to exploit Africa as a nation's weak
governance and natural resources. If the Wagner
Group extracts wood from just a third of this
land, does this mean this revenue will generate
over $900 million? Wow. Not only these environmental
crimes, funding cartels, and the opioid epidemic,
but wars were traded by Russia and mercenaries
as well. As part of the Convention on the International
Trade of Endangered Species or CITES, the United
States has a strong commitment to address wildlife
trafficking, which is displayed throughout our
implementation of the Lacey Act. Despite our
strong relations, some illegal suppliers are
still able to slip through the cracks and access
the lucrative American market through mislabeling
practices or laundering their goods through countries
with less power, less oversight, such as China.
Today we'll be hearing from witnesses coming
from industry groups, academia, and prior service
with the Fish and Wildlife Service about the
disaster effects of wildlife trafficking, illegal
logging, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated
fishing have towards our nation's economic border
and resource security. These effects don't just
allow criminal groups to proliferate, but these
crimes cause downstream consequences that ultimately
harm American producers' property operating according
to the rule of law. I look forward to the hearing
from our witnesses today about how these crimes
are proliferating and the ways that we can mitigate
their consequences. I thank you, and I now recognize
the ranking of Ms. Dexter for her five minutes.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the
witnesses for being here today. Wildlife trafficking
has spiraling impacts. It makes entire ecosystems
more vulnerable to collapse. It threatens the
foundational biodiversity on which all economies
depend. It undermines legitimate businesses that
work hard every day to operate within the law.
In the case of illegal, unreported, and unregulated
fishing, the human rights abuses are appalling
and food contaminant issues contamination issues
are widespread. But as a physician, I want to
focus on an under -recognized national security
threat, the spread of dangerous pathogens through
international wildlife trade, both legal and
illegal. The 2018 National Biodefense Strategy
released by the first Trump White House says
it plainly, biological threats, whether naturally
occurring, accidental, or deliberate in origin,
are among the most serious threats facing the
United States and the international community.
Outbreaks of disease can cause catastrophic harm
to the United States. They can cause death, sicken
and disable on a massive scale, and they can
also inflict psychological trauma and economic
and social disruption. Again, that was the Trump
administration. COVID is the most obvious example,
having most likely been spread through a wet
market where wildlife was traded legally. In
2002, a different SARS outbreak was caused by
trade in civets. Mpox was first introduced in
the US from pet prairie dogs that were co -housed
with rodents imported from Ghana. The data are
overwhelming. Roughly 75 percent of infectious
diseases originate from animals and over 70 percent
of these emerging diseases from animals originate
in wildlife rather than domesticated animals.
The avian flu outbreak alone in the U .S. has
killed two out of the seven confirmed human infections
in the U .S. had killed two out of the seven
confirmed and have resulted in the deaths of
185 million birds. Damage estimates exceed 1
.5 billion dollars. Major disease outbreaks from
zoonotic diseases or as most of the people here
know, diseases that jump from animals to humans
can emerge through wildlife trade, but they also
originate domestically. One of this country's
biggest national security vulnerabilities is
that no one is systematically tracking these
diseases as they move across the country in wildlife.
The National Academies of Science, Congressional
Blue Ribbon Panels, Nonprofit Organization Studies,
and the National Strategy on Biodefense have
recognized the need to conduct disease surveillance
in wildlife across the country in order to help
prevent major outbreaks. That's why I've been
working with states, tribes, hunters, and zoonotic
experts on legislation to shore up our national
security with wildlife disease surveillance.
I hope my Republican colleagues will work with
me to find common ground on this effort. Unfortunately,
so far, it has been the opposite. They gutted
USAID, which led a global cooperative effort
to track zoonotic diseases overseas before they
reached their shores. In 2021, Democrats passed
the American Rescue Plan, which included 20 million
to combat wildlife trafficking, 45 million to
track zoonotic diseases, and 10 million to stop
the trade of wildlife that pose serious health
risks. Much of that funding was rescinded by
Republicans before it could ever be used. They
cut the funding for US Fish and Wildlife Service
law enforcement, leaving it severely understaffed.
And they disbanded the Department of Homeland
Security team, which was poised to make significant
inroads into wildlife trafficking. So once again,
we are here watching my colleagues blame agencies
for failing to do a job that they themselves
have defunded. I agree with my colleagues and
my chair that this is a major issue that we need
to be addressing. However, we shouldn't be cutting
the funding to do just that. at the same time
that we demand better. We all should be demanding
better. And I, with that, yield back to the chair.
I think... To hear... This whole committee chairman,
Mr. Westman, for his five minutes. Thank you,
Chairman Gosar, and thank you to the witnesses
for being here. I do want to thank you for taking
time. Talk about an important subject and also
understand that the witness from the US Fish
and Wildlife Service who was scheduled to appear
came down with the flu and was unable to appear.
We wish him a speedy recovery and note that we
will submit all of our questions that we would
have asked for the record. This committee does
have a strong record of looking at dangerous
cartels and transnational criminal organizations
or TCOs. and the damaging impacts they have on
our borders, public lands, and tribal communities.
I know we were on a CODEL in Tanzania a couple
years ago, and we met with former poachers who
were showing us how some of these criminal organizations
poach bush meat to feed terrorist organizations.
It's a real thing that happens all across the
world, and we have, I think, a role in helping
stop that. But one of the lesser known elements
of these groups is their involvement, not just
in tracking of wildlife, but other natural resources.
And as our domestic borders are secured, cartels
and TCOs continue to reinvent and update their
operations globally in order to generate income.
Wildlife trafficking and related environmental
crimes are now the world's fourth largest crime
sector. posing serious risk to national security,
public health, and economic security. These illegal
operations have been valued anywhere between
$7 billion and $23 billion annually. With that
kind of reward and relatively low risk, nefarious
actors are incentivized to expand their networks
and reach to conduct wildlife trafficking. Notably,
these numbers exclude illegal logging and fishing,
which also contribute to the distortion of global
timber and seafood markets. Illegal logging is
estimated to depress world timber prices by 7
to 16 percent, impairing U .S. producers' ability
to export and harming ecosystems. Illegal, unreported,
and unregulated IUG fishing forces American seafood
producers to face competitors who bypass the
regulations and operational costs, and one of
the worst offenders being the People's Republic
of China. With growing demand both domestically
and globally for traditional medicines, fashion,
jewelry, exotic pets, and wild food, the illegal
trade of these items as compared to the legal
trade of these goods wreaks havoc on markets
and can create major health and security risks.
Cartels, TCOs, and their expansive criminal networks
have only evolved in their strategies to evade
detection. using wildlife commodities like Totoaba
swim bladders, highly sought after in Chinese
medicine, to fund their operations, even trading
these products for precursor chemicals to produce
fentanyl. The U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Office of Law Enforcement, OLE, is tasked with
the protection and management of wildlife, working
closely with U .S. Customs and Border Protection,
as well as the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement,
enforcing the law, inspecting shipments as ports
of entry, and supporting international treaty
compliance. Addressing the complexities of international
wildlife trafficking, IUU fishing and illegal
logging requires effective inter -agency collaboration
and careful participation in international discussions
and investigations. As environmental crime grows
up to three times the pace of the global economy,
we must ensure law enforcement and wildlife management
agencies have the support they need to protect
our national security and to put America first
in our approach to international conservation.
This hearing provides a valuable opportunity
to better understand and address these ongoing
threats, as well as look toward potential solutions
for increasing conservation efforts globally
from our American producers and sportsmen who
have been involved in these efforts for many
years. Again, I want to thank you for being here.
I look forward to hearing your testimony today,
and I yield back. The chairman of the full committee
now recognizes the ranking member for the full
committee, Mr. Huffman from California. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman. And I am glad we're having
a hearing on this subject. It's a very important
subject. I cannot improve on the descriptions
of this problem that have just been given. The
chairman laid it out very nicely. The ranking
member spoke. You, Mr. Chairman, as well. I am
troubled, though, at the disconnect, because
we all agree that this is a huge problem. It
has major national security implications, as
many have already said. If we're going to be
serious about this and treat it in the way that
we say we regard it, we've got to take a look
at the capacity that it takes to confront a threat
like this. We're naming it, but we've got to
also have a conversation about what this administration
is actually doing. And that, unfortunately, requires
my friends across the aisle to do something they
don't often do, and that is you've got to ask
hard questions. You've got to hold this administration
to a high standard. And in this case, I think
if you're honest about this, you got to bring
some critical analysis to the problem because
we have to maintain capacity to confront these
threats. It requires staffing. It requires expertise,
intelligence coordination, specialized enforcement
skills. And that's where this hearing just comes
crashing into the reality. of what the administration
and the Republican Congress have been doing,
because their attacks on agency staff and funding,
staffing at the Fish and Wildlife Service, it
has been slashed to the bone. They've left a
handful of agents stretched across a global criminal
market worth tens of billions of dollars. Major
ports of entry have been left dangerously understaffed,
even as traffickers rely overwhelmingly on commercial
cargo and mail. They're not bringing this wildlife
across the border in backpacks of the southern
border. At the same time, the Trump administration
shut down the Wildlife and Environmental Crimes
Unit at DHS, the very unit created to target
fraud, money laundering, and sanction evasion
tied to wildlife trafficking. So put plainly,
this administration and its apologists have virtually
taken apart the mechanisms. that we're designed
to confront this problem that we all seem to
take so seriously. And when Republicans hold
a hearing and call it a national security hearing
without taking that part of the equation seriously,
we've just got a terrible disconnect that we
have to resolve. You can't warn about transnational
criminal networks while systematically dismantling
the federal capacity needed to stop them. Wildlife
trafficking is expanding because enforcement
has been gutted. Organized crime is embedding
itself deeper because the guardrails have been
torn down and if this hearing were truly about
national security then we would Be focusing on
all of that. I hope maybe we will I hope I'll
be pleasantly surprised Because wildlife trafficking
does not pause for political theater It festers
in these gaps and under this administration those
gaps have been thrown wide open I look forward
to the conversation and I yield back I thank
the ranking member for his comments. I am now
going to recognize and introduce witnesses for
today's hearing. First, we have Dr. Evan Ellis,
Senior Non -Resident Associate Center for Strategic
and International Studies, Carlisle Barracks,
Pennsylvania. Mr. Thomas Benavides, did I say
it right? Wow. I think I first think of it the
first time. Assistant Vice President for the
Board of Directors, Dallas Safari Club of Reno,
Texas. Then we have Mr. Ed Newcomer, U .S. Fish
and Wildlife Service Special Agent, retired,
Gardena, California. And last but not least,
Dr. Eric Kingma, Executive Director, Hawaii Longtime
Association, Honolulu, Hawaii. Let me remind
the witnesses that under those pretty rules,
you must limit your oral statements to about
five minutes. You'll see the light go on green.
When it starts to turn yellow, that means you
got a minute to wrap it up and ready if you can
cut it off quickly. Your whole testimony will
be placed in the record. To be in your testimony,
please press the on button. I have to be reminded
of that all the time. So that way we can hear
everybody. So now I recognize Dr. Ellis for your
five minutes. Chairman Gosar, Chairman Westerman,
Madam Ranking Member, Ranking Member Huffman,
thank you very much for the opportunity to testify
before the committee today. These are, of course,
my personal views. Criminal activity by Chinese
groups in the Western Hemisphere are a serious
problem for its institutions and its prosperity,
but of course they also threaten its resources
and environmental health. These activities present
unique challenges due to the limited capacity
of. Okay people, listen up, here we go. This
is Nature's Secret Service, the podcast that
puts you in the room with the men and women of
wildlife law enforcement. I'm your host, Ed Newcomer,
and I was a special agent for the U .S. Fish
and Wildlife Service for more than 20 years.
Techniques such as the use of trawl nets that
have already caused the collapse of fisheries
in Asia, strained those in Africa, and are currently
contributing to hardships in Latin American coastal
communities. In illegal mining, Chinese entities
purchase gold and other products locally and
globally, as well as supplying materials, tools,
food, and clothing to miners in illicit networks.
Chinese involvement in illegal timber trafficking
contributes to deforestation. It's also an enabler
of illegal mining, and it is used to smuggle
materials as well as other illegal traffic activities.
Chinese company Baishanlin was implicated, for
example, in illegal timber exports in Guyana,
while in Peru in 2021, Luisa Dalgo Okomura, the
governor of Madre Díos province, was named in
a timber smuggling case involving Chinese entities,
to give one example. In wildlife trafficking
specifically, piracy demand includes that for
reptile skins, shark fins, jaguar and puma skins
and teeth, butterflies, totoaba swim bladder,
as the chairman mentioned, as well as seahorses
and various other flora and fauna. Chinese wildlife
poaching does increase the peril to endangered
species while generating illicit funds that undermine
government control of the territories in which
they operate. In narco trafficking, PRC -based
groups do send precursor chemicals to laboratories
in Mexico and elsewhere. Fentanyl, specifically
from Chinese precursors, killed an estimated
48 ,000 Americans last year by overdose. In money
laundering, the activities of Chinese gangs and
companies and financial institutions has proliferated
opportunities for criminal groups to hide their
illicit earnings in ways that are faster, cheaper,
and harder to detect. Specifically in the Western
Hemisphere, the US Treasury in 2024 stated that
these organizations, quote, have become more
prevalent and are now one of the key actors laundering
money professionally in the United States and
around the globe. Because Chinese illicit networks
operate both in Latin America and the United
States, they potentially support also PRC espionage
activities here. With respect to human trafficking,
anecdotal evidence suggests that a racket involving
prepayments to move ethnic Chinese through networks
from the PRC to the US through multiple Latin
American countries collaborating with local Chinese
gangs and Chinese communities. Specifically in
2024, evidence suggests that more than 30 ,000
Chinese were intercepted crossing the southern
border from the US into the United States, from
Mexico, creating opportunities for PRC security
services to potentially use at least some of
these for the purpose of espionage in a future
conflict with the United States. The phenomenon
of informal PRC police stations in the region
also shows that PRC interfaces with this diaspora
in the region in non -transparent and coercive
ways, creating farther opportunities for espionage
and other damaging activity. With respect to
recommendations, for me it is important for the
U .S. to increase its cooperation with law enforcement
and intelligence bodies in other countries in
the hemisphere, as well as being part of the
prioritization that we see now through the new
national security strategy on the Western Hemisphere.
While Latin America often pushes back on U .S.
pressure regarding Chinese commercial activities
in the hemisphere, for me, cooperation on Chinese
organized crime could be a win -win for our relationship
with the region, helping it to combat illicit
activity which would violate our collective sovereignty,
our collective resources, destroy our collective
environment, and undermine the rule of law. But
as well, for the U .S., expanded cooperation
with Latin America on organized crime not only
would strengthen our protection of resources
and the environment, but also to help us to better
understand Chinese networks in the region that
potentially impact our national security, while
at the same time showcasing to our partners the
harms to their own interests of improperly monitored
and controlled PRC activities in the hemisphere
that we share. Thank you very much for your time
and considering my testimony today. Thank you,
Dr. Ellis. I now recognize Mr. Benavides. Thank
you, Chairman Gosar, Ranking Member Dexter, and
members of the committee. Thank you very much
for the opportunity to testify. I am Tom Benavides,
an Assistant Vice President for the Board of
Directors at Dallas Safari Club. I, along with
my family, have been ranching cattle in Texas
for generations. My parents ingrained in me the
value of being a good steward for our habitat,
our livestock, and wildlife alike. DSC and our
separate charitable arm Dallas Safari Club Foundation
are US -based conservation organizations that
put conservation first and hunting second, working
with wildlife departments worldwide to promote
science -based wildlife management and sustainable
use. Every year, both organizations award millions
of dollars in grants for research, anti -poaching,
habitat, reintroduction, reducing human -wildlife
conflict, and much more. I've been very lucky
to experience many wild places on this planet,
which led me to my love of rhinoceros. My wife
and I have dedicated much of our life to establishing
and maintaining a viable private breeding program
of southern white rhino here in the United States,
in the hope that we can help save the species
and someday, perhaps, my children can be part
of repopulating rhino in their natural habitat.
While I applaud the hard work being done by American
zoos and other NGOs, the strategy differs that
differs from that of private breeders. A zoo's
main purpose is to exhibit, educate, and inform
the public to raise awareness about the current
plight of endangered species and species like
rhino. My purpose is to enhance the survival
of the species by producing more rhino and moving
them to a place that they can actually be protected.
I'm trying to defend the existing individuals
and increase the world's population. While raising
awareness is important, it does not result in
a single new rhino nor does it place anti -poaching
measures in place. To successfully propagate,
we must move out of traditional NGO tactics and
encourage programs like ours. Conservation is
simple, but it requires common sense and replicating
how rhinos thrive in the wild. What can an America
First administration do? Sadly, the U .S. government
has been more of a hindrance than a help. From
arbitrary red tape that has no basis in statute
to permitting delays and requirements that cause
undue stress on animals All I ask is that the
US government be helpful rather than agnostic
antagonistic in 1977 trade in rhino horn was
banned Importantly when this ban happened there
was no legal framework to regulate the trade
of horn 85 % of the African rhinos alive then
have been killed It's easy to say that the ban
has failed miserably. The U .S. must support
legalizing the regulated trade of horn, and in
case you didn't know, rhino horn can be removed
with no negative impact to the animal, and it
does grow back. My hope is that the United States
will stop their de facto decades -long support
of the black market and open avenues for the
regulated trade of horn. Nothing less than this
will be sufficient to save rhino. Thank you very
much for your time. Thank you for your testimony.
Now I recognize Mr. Newcomer for his. Mr. Chairman,
members of the committee, good afternoon. My
name is Ed Newcomer, and I was a special agent
for the U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service for more
than 20 years. I worked primarily on international
wildlife trafficking cases and worked overseas
for extended periods of time, including a six
-month assignment in Southeast Asia and a five
-year assignment as the senior U .S. Wildlife
Law Enforcement official covering nine countries
in southern Africa. As an agent, I successfully
served under the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden
administrations. It was under the first Trump
administration that I worked with political appointees
at the State Department and U .S. ambassadors
to draft and implement the U .S. visa ineligibility
for wildlife and timber traffickers. No other
country in the world has a visa rule like that.
It's a tool that helps us keep foreign nationals
involved in wildlife trafficking out of the United
States. I currently teach courses on criminal
justice and administrative law at California
State University at Dominguez Hills, and I serve
as the international law enforcement advisor
for the nonprofit organization known as Wildlife
Investigators Training Alliance. International
wildlife and timber trafficking is a major source
of revenue for criminals around the world. It
generates many billions of dollars in illegal
revenue every year. The groups that control smuggling
routes, they don't care what contraband flows
along those routes. They only care about money.
Accordingly, the same routes used to smuggle
drugs, guns, and people are also used to smuggle
wildlife. But our wildlife is not as renewable
as we might think While criminals can cook up
more methamphetamine or manufacture more guns
if we allow wildlife to go extinct We can't make
more rhinos. We can't make more California condors
sea turtles or grizzly bears International crime
in general creates a national security problems
for the United States Criminal operatives corrupt
law enforcement and judicial systems around the
world, and this creates opportunities for US
adversaries to capitalize on corrupt systems
and foreign officials. While I was serving in
Africa, I was made aware of a map of Chinese
infrastructure projects that overlaid perfectly
against a map of elephant and rhino poaching
hotspots. That's no coincidence. Members of Chinese
wildlife trafficking criminal groups embed themselves
around these infrastructure projects and arrive
with briefcases full of cash. That's money that
represents several years of salary for the local
wildlife investigator or ranger. International
wildlife trafficking also poses serious risks
to the health and economic stability of the United
States. Every year, smugglers bring live wild
birds into the U .S. from Vietnam. These birds
are frequently hidden on the smuggler's bodies
while they fly inside the passenger compartments
of long -haul commercial flights. The most virulent
strain of bird flu happens to come from wild
birds in Vietnam, and it kills about 50 % of
the humans who contract it. Imagine the consequences
if that strain makes one small mutation that
allows it to easily jump from human to human
while maintaining that lethality. The highest
death rate during the COVID pandemic was 3%.
I got to be honest, I lay awake at night wondering
what will happen to this country if an easily
transmissible high mortality variant of bird
flu arrives on an airplane. There are other zoonotic
diseases that have an impact on our national
security. Newcastle's disease infects domestic
poultry and comes from wild birds like parrots.
We know that an outbreak of Newcastle's disease
in Southern California during the early 2000s
originated from wild parrots smuggled into the
U .S. from Mexico. That outbreak resulted in
the destruction of more than 3 million chickens
and economic damages approaching $300 million.
It literally put farmers out of business and
raised prices for Americans at the grocery store.
Combating international wildlife trafficking
requires strong international relationships.
Cooperation is really the best way to put America
first. In Africa, I helped capture three major
wildlife traffickers in Botswana, Malawi, and
South Africa. That was only possible because
of the strong, trusted, and mutual relationships
the U .S. had with those countries. I'm very
concerned that the chronic underfunding and understaffing
at U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement
and generally the dismantling of U .S. government
agencies is putting us at a real disadvantage
when it comes to combating international wildlife
trafficking. I love this committee's motto, putting
conservation or putting conservatives back into
conservation. There's no question that traditional
conservative values are consistent with preserving
our natural resources. Thank you very much. I
look forward to hearing any questions you have.
Chairman Gosir, Ranking Member Dexter, and distinguished
members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity
to testify on this important topic. I serve as
executive director of the Hawaii Long Line Association,
representing 150 U .S. flagged Hawaii -based
vessels targeting tuna and swordfish. The Hawaii
Long Line fleet is a major fishery in the United
States and we're the largest food producer in
the state of Hawaii. Annual landings exceed 30
million pounds with a dockside value of roughly
120 million. The landed value of the Hawaii longline
fleet consistently ranks Honolulu Harbor within
the nation's top seven ports in terms of fisheries
economic value. Around 80 % of our fishing efforts
on the high seas amongst foreign competition.
We also face daily competition in the U .S. market
from foreign seafood imports. And most of the
seafood comes from fleets that are heavily subsidized,
poorly monitored, and subject to minimal environmental
laws and enforcement. By contrast, U .S. fisheries
operate under the some of the most stringent
regulatory frameworks in the world and is unmatched
in terms of monitoring and enforcement. This
makes the United States a global leader in marine
conservation, protection, and management. Despite
this leadership, USC producers have lost or continue
to lose serious ground in the U .S. market. Imports
often 30 to 50 percent or more cheaper are displacing
domestic products across nearly every major fishery.
NOAA reports that 70 to 85 % of seafood consumed
in the U .S. is imported. In 2023, imported seafood
totaled $25 .5 billion, contributing to a seafood
trade deficit exceeding $20 billion. Over the
last 30 years, the inflation -adjusted value
of foreign imports in the United States has increased
by 130%. Foreign producers benefit from lower
labor costs, government subsidies, weaker environmental
standards, and cheaper processing, advantages
US fishermen do not have. It's estimated that
15 % of wild -caught seafood imported in the
United States comes from IAU fisheries. And IAU
fishing includes transnational criminal networks,
human trafficking and forced labor, state -sponsored
unregulated fleets, underreported by licensed
vessels, and harvests of endangered or protected
species. IAU fishing undermines conservation
efforts, distorts markets, threatens food safety,
and harms workers. Preventing IAU -associated
seafood from entering the United States market
is essential for national security and marine
conservation, economic fairness, and consumer
protection. The United States seafood market
is among the world's largest. As such, the United
States government has a tremendous ability to
level the playing field between domestic fisheries
and international fleets through the power of
market access. For example, the Marine Mammal
Protection Act import provisions give the United
States a powerful tool to level the playing field.
However, after nearly 50 years on the books,
the National Marine Fisheries Service issued
its first foreign fishery determinations just
last year in September. Of 2 ,500 assessed fisheries
from 46 countries, only 9 % were found to be
not comparable to U .S. Marine Mammal Protection
Standards. Most industrial fleets, including
China's, received passing grades. This was a
missed opportunity to hold foreign fleets the
same standards required of U .S. fishermen. China
is the world's largest fishing nation, and its
global fisheries reach is unmatched. Chinese
fishing vessels fish in all of the world's ocean
and the exclusive economic zones of 90 countries.
China's fishing footprint and influence has grown
tremendously in the U .S. or in the Pacific Islands
region. And for example, Chinese flag tuna vessels
operate in the EEZs of the Federated States of
Micronesia. and the Republican Marshall Islands,
both former U .S. trust territories and current
COFA states. Chinese flag vessels offload to
Chinese -owned processing and Chinese -owned
distribution companies that ship fresh daily
into the United States. China also maintains
close ties with Kiribati, Hawaii's nearest foreign
neighbor. The Kiribati Line Islands lie roughly
a thousand miles to the south of Pearl Harbor,
and China's growing presence there raises geopolitical
and IAU -related concerns. China's distant water
fleet is not monitored in international standards
and its reporting is widely viewed as unreliable
and multiple investigations have documented forced
labor in their supply chain. No doubt seafood
supply chains are complex and opaque. A single
fish may be caught from a vessel from country
A and waters of country B, trans shipped at sea
from a vessel from country C and then processed
in a country D and then imported into the United
States. Certainly, there are actions the United
States could take, such as restricting imports
that fail to meet U .S. standards, strengthening
international engagement through RFMOs, eliminating
harmful foreign subsidies, implementing electronic
supply chain tracking that requires NOAA import
seafood import monitoring program for all species,
as well as expanding country of origin labeling
to restaurants. Benefits from these actions will
be strengthening ocean conservation, supporting
long -term viability of American fisheries, and
protecting U .S. consumers. Thank you. Members
for their questions. I start with Mr. Begich,
the gentleman from Alaska. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll start with you, Dr. Kingma. I represent
Alaska. where commercial fishing is our largest
private employer and our fishermen are among
the most regulated in the world. Yet cheap foreign
imports devastate prices for Alaska salmon, pollock,
crab, and other species. You note NOAA gave China's
fleet a passing grade under MMPA import provisions.
How was that possible given China's documented
IUU practices and what should Congress do in
your view to ensure those provisions protect
American fishermen? Thank you very much for the
question, Congressman. And Hawaii certainly shares
a lot of the same concerns with Alaska and the
importance of fisheries to our state. We were
highly surprised to find that NOAA made those
comparability findings for China. And I think
one remedy might be that Congress directs the
National Marine Fisheries Service to immediately
investigate those determinations again and quickly,
because we don't necessarily believe they...
They made the right call there. Thank you. A
follow -up question. You noted that 70 % to 85
% of U .S. seafood is imported with an estimated
15 % from IUU fisheries. Alaska's invested heavily
in traceability because we can compete on quality
when consumers have accurate information. How
would expanding the seafood import monitoring
program and requiring country of origin labeling
for restaurants benefit fishing communities in
Alaska and Hawaii? Yeah, thanks for the question.
I think country of origin labeling is a critical
issue for American seafood producers. And like
I said, most of the imports, as you mentioned,
are from foreign sources. Currently, the National
Marine Fisheries Service Seafood Import Monitoring
Program only covers, I believe, 13 species. So
it doesn't cover all species imported in the
United States. So that's a start. It does cover
most of the imports, but not all. And I think
there's some differences in how seafood imports
are coming in the United States with what Harmonite
tariff number or schedule and how they're actually
being certified and entering in. So there could
be some improvements. in the certification or
supply chain tracking in the United States, including
digitizing those supply chains like the EU has
just done for their seafood imports. So there
could be major steps taken there. And then country
of origin for restaurants currently only applies
to retail. So say Alaska salmon filet has the
origin. But then once that product is, and only,
like I said, is maintained for retail, but not
restaurants. And most seafood is actually consumed
in restaurants. And so you really don't know
what you're getting. So I do think there could
be a lot of room for improvement for consumers
to understand and make the choice of where they
want to buy their seafood and where it comes
from. Thank you. Dr. Ellis, you mentioned Illegal
mining, in your opening remarks. Illegal mining
denies citizens of other nations the benefit
of mineral wealth, it funds illicit criminal
activities, and of course it destroys the environment.
What do we need to do to end this practice? Specifically,
you need a series of controls in part to... What
actions would you recommend Congress take? I
think specifically, number one, a emphasis on
increased law enforcement collaboration, as well
as the strengthening of relevant institutions
of our local partners. I'll give you an example.
Peru's control over what comes out of mines is
relatively good relative to Bolivia. We have
an opportunity with the new Bolivian government
of Rodrigo Paz now, who is very willing to cooperate
with the United States. But there is a need for
strengthening oversight of oftentimes gold, which
is illegally mined in places like Madrid de los
Peru, but is laundered through. Bolivian minds.
I think working more closely with the Bolivians,
as well as having expanded traceability, much
like you have with, you know, African conflict
diamonds and things like that could help to do
that. And that certainly also applies in places
like the interior of Suriname, the interior of
Guyana, the interior of Columbia, where, again,
it's not just about the drugs, although it's
certainly about that. It's about, and the Fajardo
Orinoco, the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela, where
we have, you know, new leverage over the current
government is probably another place where we
can increase those controls. Thank you very much.
I notice that my time is about to expire. I have
so many more questions, but I appreciate everyone's
testimony and participation in today's hearing.
And with that, I yield back. I thank the gentleman.
The gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Quigley, is
now recognized for his five minutes. Thank you,
Chairman. I appreciate the accommodation. I waved
on to this hearing because I'm a co -chair of
the Animal Protection Caucus. and have several
bills related to this topic, Wildlife Confiscations
Network Act and the Captive Primate Safety Act.
Mr. Newcomer, let me ask you, we've seen a disturbing
number of stories about the smuggling of spider
monkey babies across the southern border from
23 to 25. 109 baby spider monkeys were confiscated
at the U .S.-Mexico border. And the U .S. Fish
and Wildlife officials say that's only a fraction.
What's the driving factors for this particular
trade? And what's the process? Are we succeeding
in getting those confiscated wildlife animals
into accredited care facilities? So the really
tragic thing about the spider monkey trade is
that it really comes down to the fact that they're
cute. And what's really driving that trade is
that it's social media and the ability to use
the internet to buy and sell and offer to sell
exotic animals very easily. If any of us picked
up our phones right now and just went to Instagram
and searched monkey or baby monkey, we would
find hundreds, hundreds of videos of baby spider
monkeys wearing diapers, wearing clothes, looking
very friendly and dancing around. And every time
one of those ads or one of those posts gets on
social media, it creates demand. And people say,
gosh, I want a baby spider monkey. And that drives
the trade. And that allows, once people start
going out and looking for it, it allows the poachers
to find a market very easily. There was a recent,
I think it was a CBS News report that demonstrated
just how easy it is to get a spider monkey. A
reporter in Texas just made a few inquiries using
social media. And before she knew it, she was
meeting at Home Depot parking lots, actually
having baby spider monkeys offered to her. Now
as to your second part of your question, for
years the U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service has
struggled with how to place live exotic animals.
We're unique in law enforcement and then our
evidence that we see is often has to be fed and
cared for. We can't just put it in an evidence
locker if it's a live animal. During my career,
there were many occasions where I arrested somebody
at the airport at 11 o 'clock, 12 o 'clock at
night with a live animal strapped to their body.
I now have to take that person to jail. But when
that's over, I have to figure out how to feed
this animal and how to care for it. And in the
past, it was really just individual agents and
wildlife inspectors who knew somebody at a zoo
or knew a wildlife rehabilitator that they could
call at 2 in the morning and say, hey, can you
help me? There's been a recent move to develop
the Wildlife Confiscation Network, a live wildlife
confiscation network, and that has been incredibly
helpful to U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service law
enforcement. It's a network that basically has
other people who are already connected in and
with numbers and call trees. So that if an animal
comes in to say LAX, whether it's a monkey or
a snake or whatever, and it's confiscated, the
US Fish and Wildlife Service agent or wildlife
inspector simply has to make a call to the wildlife
confiscation network coordinator. And I appreciate
that, given the short time. I don't mean to cut
you off, but And I was at Born Free in South
Texas. Do you think the word is out there about
the concerns for the proximity, the health issues
of these primates having close contact with humans?
I mean, are we trying to educate the public on
that as well? That's a real concern and a real
issue. I don't think the public realizes just
how dangerous a primate can be, whether it's
a disease or not. But once that primate gets
older, they bite and they scratch and that those
scratches can cause serious diseases in humans.
The sad thing is that a lot of these primates
as they get older they will have their canine
teeth removed so that they can't bite and that
you know that's a horrible thing to do to an
animal that relies on its teeth as part of its
just day -to -day living. Can you some of the
other health issues that come from primates that
you could list now? disease issues? Yeah, because
they're primates. Just about every disease that
humans can get, primates can get. So it could
be anything from drug -resistant tuberculosis.
Herpes can be spread through primates. Of course,
Ebola. There's all kinds of nasty things that
people can get from primates. We appreciate your
work. I appreciate the entire panel and their
service. Thank you. And I truly appreciate the
accommodation. Thank you so much. Thank you for
the interest. And the gentleman from Mississippi,
Mr. Rizel, let's recognize for his offense. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman. Before I get into my questions,
Mr. Newcomer, I just want to thank you for what
you've done. I spent my entire life as a local,
federal, and state police officer before coming
to the Congress. And I too have had many times
where at 2 o 'clock in the morning, we had to
figure out something to get something to somebody.
And so usually you looked on one of your fellow
members on the ship to, hey, do you know somebody
we can take this animal to or whatever it was?
I'd like to submit for the record some questions
that I will have for you later on, because I
sure would like to talk to you some more about
funding and about some different things that
we could do together that I could help support
the former mission that you had and now the mission
that you do have. But thank you, Mr. Chairman,
and thank you. all of you for being here today
and giving us such good information. Thank you
very much. In a coastal district like mine, shrimping
is not just a talking point, it's an economic
reality in a way of life. Family -owned fishing
boats, shrimpers, and small processors are in
the communities and depend on fair access to
the marketplace to survive. Right now, these
producers are being squeezed out. Not by better
products or practices, but by foreign shrimp
entering our market prices at no price a good
American would even consider could match That
price gap is it's not an accident. It's driven
by dumping government support and serious allegations
of labor abuse abroad when shrimp Produced under
these conditions is allowed into the US market.
It doesn't just harm domestic producers is distorts
the entire system It rewards bad actors, drives
down prices, and makes it nearly impossible for
U .S. shrimpers to even break even. I had them
calling me last year. By the time they filled
up with fuel and ice and deckhands and work,
they were behind. They were going to lose money.
American shrimpers are not... We're not asking
for special treatment. We're asking for a level
playing field. And once we get to that and get
through with this... the forced labor that we've
seen from the Chinese, environmental abuse, and
some of these unfair trade practices. We want
to take care of our local folks, and that's what
I'm here for, to try to do that. Dr. King, I
got a few questions for you regarding our illegal
and unreported and unregulated fishing. If unfair
imports continue to go unchecked, what's the
future look like for domestic shrimp in our communities?
Thank you, Carl, for the question. I think you
can replace, you know, Gulf shrimp with every
single major U .S. fishery in those remarks.
We are losing, and we're losing rapidly. The
same case for Hawaii, Alaska fisheries, East
Coast, Gulf, you name it, West Coast. The U .S.
market is huge and it's powerful. So we have
to use the accessibility to the U .S. market
to support domestic fishermen and level that
playing field. So somehow certainly restricting
imports that are subsidized, that are from IUU
is the immediate start. And then also on the
regulatory aspect, leveling the playing field
from the regulatory frameworks that we're subject
to. those should also be applied to foreign fisheries.
And in doing so, you support marine conservation
and you support U .S. domestic fishermen. Thank
you. Would you agree that allowing imports produced
with forced labor in the United States market
directly undermines American workers and lawful
business? Yes, 100 percent. What policy recommendations
do you have to curb the importations of shrimp
so our shrimpers can fairly compete? Yeah, I
think it's Like I said, ensuring that the imports
that are coming in meet U .S. standards. And
in meeting U .S. standards, we have to figure
out how that fishery product is produced. And
if it's produced with forced labor, it has no
business being in the United States. Also, if
it's subsidized and if they don't follow U .S.
environmental standards, like Marine Mammal Protection
Act, it has no business being in the United States.
Thank you. And I look forward to continuing this
conversation. And Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Thank you, gentlemen from Mississippi. I'm now
going to go a little out of order. I'm going
to go next. I've got votes clinging across the
campus here. So Mr. Newcomer, you could spend
all the money you want to with law enforcement,
but you have to have compliance or help from
the public. Would you say that would be the case?
I'm sorry. I missed the very first part of your
question. So you have all the enforcement you
want, but you need to get help from the public,
do you not? Yeah, absolutely. So if you were
to empower the average citizen to be part of
the situation where they start looking out for
animals and really will talk and tell You can
be a real big impact to that. Could you not?
Yeah, I think if you if you empowered the average
citizens Excuse me average citizen that yeah,
you could make a house if you were to make your
success model they the elimination of these animals
being transported and trafficked You can make
that part of the civilization to that would increase
money, right? And I say in a fund where I'm going
with this is I have a bill Okay, it's called
the lasso act and what it basically does is it
takes all the revenues coming off of public lands
and turns it over to Social Security Well, but
that's gonna do now. You've got an interest in
that So now you're gonna be investing your time
and energy if you see something illegal coming
up Because that takes away from your benefit
from the public lands Would you agree? Well,
I've made qualified agreement. I think that sometimes
there's a fine line that can't be crossed where
it actually creates a mechanism for laundering.
And sometimes if there's a legal way to deal
with wildlife, it creates the perfect opportunity
to hide illegal wildlife transactions. I understand
what you're saying for sure. And, you know, my
gut instinct is to say, yeah, you're right. But
then I remember cases that I worked on where
people actually hid illegal wildlife in a legal
mechanism. Gotcha. I like, for the record, I
like to put in the record all these little different
hits that were to pick up on the border just
in Arizona for different years. I mean, parrots
to bladders. You can't believe it's in this thing.
So if I saw or... Done. Mr. Venavates, hunting
has played a big role in big animals, particularly.
How could it help us with these small animals?
Hunting, typically, when you see the people that
are on the forefront of conservation, they are
hunters. It's an experience that you interact
with the environment in a very different way.
Most hunters will look at things, whether they're
megafauna or smaller animals, and they'll say,
OK, well, to interact the best that we can, we
look at environment. We look at maintaining a
healthy environment and we look at maintaining
a healthy habitat. What is that habitat support?
How can we responsibly manage those numbers?
And one of the ways to manage numbers is actually
reproduction. It is a renewable resource because
biologically an animal reproduces. So I think
in that management methodology, you can say that,
yeah, for any size animal, it is a way to healthily
maintain a population of that animal. Okay. Dr.
Ellis, do you agree with him on that aspect?
That hunting is very helpful to some of these
aspects for increased animals production? Well,
for me, I think hunting and the connection that
hunters have with the environment is a logical
part of the broader issue of stewardship. And
proper regulation and freedoms to hunting are
part of the broader regulations of the environment
at large. So I think I would concur. Mr. King,
when you look at some of these fines, they're
minute minute. They're small comparatively to
the crime. Would increasing those fines make
a difference? And making an example out of a
crawler, a Chinese crawler, something like that
for a while, would that help? Yeah, I think to
a certain extent, thanks. But also, we have limited
ability to find foreign vessels of another country.
That only occurs if they're fishing in US waters.
But we do have an incredible ability to. limit
or prevent access to the US market. So I think
we should focus on the accessibility rather than
a fine onto a foreign vessel. Yeah, it'd be very
interesting, because in Alaska, they have this
whole matrix put together. I think they're showing
increases in all their production. So at least
that's my understanding, the gentleman from Alaska,
that happens. So maybe some models like Alaska
would be something very good to start looking
at. I'm done. I'm going to turn it over now to
the ranking number for her five minutes. Okay.
All right, thank you very much. Mr. Newcomer,
and really appreciate everyone's, and obviously
we have bipartisan agreement on a lot of this,
so look forward to the questions. Mr. Newcomer,
in your experience, why is wildlife trafficking
a potential health threat to the U .S.? Well,
you know... Gosh, I talked about bird flu, and
that's the thing that keeps me up at night, right?
But there are a lot of diseases that can come
in, not only through live wildlife, but wildlife
parts. Things like Ebola, as we talked about,
things that are really scary. But another scary
thing is the unknown. What diseases are on the
horizon? What's the next disease? What's going
to mutate tomorrow that becomes highly infectious
and deadly? And all of that can come in anytime
you have, when you have not very many enforcement
people trying to monitor this kind of thing,
it's just a risk. Thank you for that. And if
a pathogen was introduced into wildlife in the
US that had the potential to make a jump from
wildlife to people, how would we know about it
when we have so few? people enforce me. Yeah,
with so few enforcement people, the most likely
way we're going to know about it is we're going
to have, you know, the typhoid Mary and we're
going to have an outbreak of a big problem and
people are going to start dying or getting really
sick. The best way to know about it, of course,
is to catch it early. And that's through, you
know, robust. wildlife inspection officers numbers
at the border points in the ports of entry to
look for illegal wildlife coming in because once
that happens the wildlife can go to quarantine
and be tested and then we know okay we got we
have a problem or we don't. I very much agree
with that and are there it's the same in humans
like containment versus I think we've already
heard this pretty clearly, but are there enough
fish and wildlife inspectors at ports to manage
the volume of trafficking? And if not, why not?
Absolutely not. There is not. And I can give
you a specific example. I recently learned through
my contacts that there is one wildlife inspector
based at the Port of Seattle. The Port of Seattle
is a major port with People and cargo and everything
else coming and going from all parts of the Pacific
Rim, a high risk area. One wildlife inspector
cannot handle mail, sea cargo, air cargo, and
passengers. It's not possible. Totally agree.
Yeah. So the same is true of agents. The numbers
of wildlife inspectors and agents are historically
low. And I want to use up your time, but just
briefly, keep this in mind. The US Fish and Wildlife
Service just agent force has been authorized
at its at the highest to be around 250 253 agents
that has not changed for 40 years Yet the mission
of the Fish and Wildlife Service and its responsibilities
have grown tremendously in that time I used to
say when I was a first -line supervisor in LA
my boss and I would always joke Hire me give
me twice as many agents and twice as many inspectors
today. They'll all be busy tomorrow Okay, and
I appreciate you elevating not only that we haven't
increased the number of agents in 40 years But
we probably have a huge number of unfilled positions
right now Okay, absolutely as Mars I understand
it's historically low like right around a hundred
or maybe maybe 170 or something like that Obviously
we have a lot of work to do there. Mr. Benavides,
I wanted to ask you about chronic wasting disease,
which I know is a neurologically degenerative
disease in deer and elk, and I practiced for
quite a while in Colorado, and it was something
that we thought of a lot in that area. It has
a small but real risk that chronic wasting disease
could affect human health. Is it fair to say
it is a threat to this? to the sport hunting
industry in the US? Well, yes. Obviously, coming
from Texas, it's something that Texas Parks and
Wildlife, our state agency is looking a lot into,
especially over the past couple of years. A lot
of new things have been put in place to monitor
it. I am not a biologist by education. And my
specialty really is megafauna like rhino, undulate
specifically. But I think any communicable disease,
any responsible person should take a look at
monitoring. and just so we know like it is an
extremely infectious like problem and so it captured
the imagination of a lot of the hunters that
I was interacting with clearly because nobody
wants to kill their children with you know an
elk steak so would you support funding to be
allocated to states and tribes to track chronic
wasting disease other diseases like it in the
wild as a way to try to manage it and in some
places contain it. Coming from Texas, I feel
like our state agency is doing more than a sufficient
job. So for us, I don't think it would be necessary.
Okay. And in my last... Two seconds. I'm going
to go over. Hopefully the representative will
give me some grace. Dr. Kingma, you had articulated
several threats to longline fishing, but there
is one that I didn't see. And this committee
is about to have its second hearing on deep sea
bed mining, a destructive, risky, and economically
dubious pursuit of eccentric billionaires. And
many in the tuna industry have expressed concern
about it. How does the Hawaii Longline Association
feel about deep sea mining? Thank you for the
question. We're concerned about the impacts of
deep -sea mining on tuna populations and their
distribution. We look forward to some more of
the science being available, so it is quite unknown.
At this point, we're highly concerned. Thank
you. I appreciate the indulgence. I now recognize
a gentleman from Ohio, Representative Joyce,
for his five minutes. Thank you very much, Mr.
Chair. Dr. Ellis, as a co -chair of the International
Conservation Caucus, I'm committed to advancing
international conservation initiatives that strengthen
our national security. In December 2024, Congress
authorized a new entity, the United States Foundation
for National Security and Counterterrorism. His
job is to bring together public and private partners,
protect key landscapes and seascapes, and stop
criminal and armed groups from exploiting wildlife,
forests, and fisheries. In your written testimony,
you describe how Chinese criminal networks are
deeply involved in unregulated fishing, illegal
mining, timber trafficking, and wildlife smuggling
across Latin America. Can you discuss how those
activities undermine the governance in the regional
stability and what the implications that has
the U .S. national security interests in that
region? So thank you very much for the question
for me these activities and they're multi -dimensional
as you alluded to impacts us through their impacts
on the region, but also impacts us directly.
Obviously, through the region, for example, when
you talk about IEU fishing, you're depleting
local fisheries and you're hurting coastal communities,
which indirectly causes instability and thus
can lead to migration and government issues and
other things. The issues with illegal mining
not only have environmental costs, but there's
an entire illicit industry that contributes to
informality, contributes to other types of criminality,
money laundering of drugs and things like that,
and thus undermines democracy. and undermines
governance stability in the region. Obviously,
when you talk about flora and fauna trafficking
as well, you're not only talking about the endangerment
of species. but opportunities to be able to launder
money through those activities. More broadly,
when you look at US security directly, and I
alluded in my testimony, of course, to illegal
trafficking and smuggling of persons through
Chinese communities and how that contributes
directly to flows for security issues. But beyond
that, of course, many of these activities create
other opportunities for money laundering. There
are cases in which Chinese triads and other entities
in the United States They have money that they
are laundering for groups like the Sinaloa Cartel
and others, and then they are laundering that
within. the United States. And so there's also,
farther in the United States, an issue of presence
in the Americas more broadly. If we ever have
to fight a war against the PRC in the Indo -Pacific,
it's not just directly the homeland, I mean,
the people who are coming across the southern
border, but it's also other areas where U .S.
Southern Command and others could have their
equities put into jeopardy. And so there are
concerns with respect to, for example, IU fishing
and the possibility of espionage assets and other
things to hide within those vast which go on
the deep water side from the Galapagos, Ecuador,
Peru, Chile, through the Straits of Magellan,
Argentina, putting in Uruguay, et cetera. And
so it's really multidimensional. It's the idea
that when you have people, networks, and money,
and physical presence with an adversary nation,
although it's not all directed by that government,
it creates opportunities for that government
to want to do harm to you in times of conflict.
Thank you very much. Dr. Kingma, the U .S. has
a strong interest in sustainable fisheries and
in limiting the impacts of foreign fishing fleets
on governance and markets. In your written testimony,
you describe how China is the world's largest
fishing nation, responsible for around 30 % of
all the high seas. In your view, how do China's
subsidized fishing fleets influence other nations
economically and politically, and what impact
do these operations have on the United States?
Yeah, thank you for the question. I believe China's
fishing fleets serve multiple... purposes for
that country. And it's more than fishing and
food security, but also geopolitical influence
and dominance. And so from our experience and
from being on the ground in many Pacific Island
countries, you feel that presence and you see
those vessels. And our fleet in particular fishes.
on the high seas most of the time and we see
a growing level of presence of Chinese fishing
vessels in our neighborhood. And so I think the
United States has to be highly concerned with
where this is going and utilize everything in
its power, including the access to the U .S.
market to prevent the expansion of Chinese fishing
effort that we believe is... certainly unregulated
and unmonitored, and really to understand their
objectives. And we certainly understand that
they are closing in, certainly in the Pacific
Island region, to the extent that we've never
seen previously. Thank you. Mr. Benavides, U
.S. leadership is critical to global efforts
to protect endangered species. In your written
testimony, you argue that the international ban
on rhino horn trade has failed and empowered
illicit criminal to protect local communities,
even in controversial cases like the rhino horn
trade. What safeguards would be necessary to
prevent abuse within a legal market? In my written
testimony, I included a link that shows the High
Court of South Africa ruled that rhino horn is
a privately owned item and is tradable for the
purposes of conservation. So those initiatives
and money that could be garnished from the private
trade of horn could be put into anti -poaching
programs and the proliferation of the species.
And South Africa actually has, outside of the
chipping program, the track international movement
of the horn, there is what they call rotus, which
is the rhino DNA index system. Which they can
actually tie the cells from the horn directly
to the host animal so you can monitor illegal
trade versus legal trade I apologize for going
over time No, I certainly appreciate I realize
they ran over and I beg the Consideration of
the chair at this time. I thought the question
might be worthwhile. Thank you Or his answer
would be worthwhile. It was that I appreciate
that. Thank you. We're gonna go ahead and extend
some time for additional questions. And I'll
recognize myself for an additional five minutes.
Mr. Newcomer, what are the penalties for illegal
wildlife trafficking? Well, they vary greatly
depending on the law involved, obviously. Shocking
to most Americans, I think, would be the information
that the Endangered Species Act is at maximum
a Class A misdemeanor. which means that the maximum
penalty would be a year in jail and $100 ,000
fine. How much does a trafficker, how much can
they earn? Oh, you know, traffickers I've personally
chased. You know, even a butterfly trafficker
I arrested once, you know, made. $100 ,000 a
year. He tried to sell me $300 ,000 worth of
protected butterflies. Wow. So it can be a lot
of money. So do you think that in your professional
experience, the penalties for wildlife trafficking
should be increased to help deter wildlife trafficking?
I think that would be a very positive step in
the right direction. OK. In your written testimony,
you describe the lack of quote, policies, directives,
or guidance on how attaches are to conduct their
operations overseas, what the expectations are
of attaches in building and maintaining inter
-agency relationships, or how US -based agents
are supposed to interact with attaches. To your
knowledge, Since your retirement in 2022 has
this policy guidance been updated? And if not,
what specific guidance would you like to see
implemented for attaches to help improve the
work of the Fish and Wildlife Service investigative
offices overseas? Yes, as of last week, I confirmed
that there are still no internal policies You
know guidance nothing for how attaches are to
operate overseas having served as an attache
myself I would have really appreciated not only
some guidance about how we were to operate, but
to have some input into that. And part of that
is I think an expectation for attaches should
be building relationships between the United
States and foreign countries that we need to
share information and cooperate with to combat
wildlife crime. Sometimes, you know, it was interesting
in the attache core about half of us really believed
in you know, bilateral operations. And the others
really thought the U .S. could fight wildlife
trafficking all by itself and essentially police
the world. And in my experience, that is not
an effective strategy. Thank you. Dr. Ellis,
your testimony describes China's 17 ,000 vessel
distant water fleet engaged in systematic IUU
fishing. that has collapsed fisheries in Asia
and now threatens fisheries in Latin America.
For Alaska, it's not abstract. China's fleet
operates in the North Pacific near our waters,
and our fishermen see these vessels. What tools
should the US deploy, sanctions, port state measures,
diplomatic pressure, or another tool to hold
China accountable for what amounts to state -sponsored
resource theft? Well, certainly, sir, all of
the above. First of all, beginning with the responsibility
when one flies the flag of China or has other
ties. In other words, they then become legally
responsible for the actions of their deep water
fleet. We've had difficulties with China on that.
I think certainly more pressure can be put on
China with respect to that. I follow this issue
closely in Latin America and the Caribbean. And
oftentimes the issue there is cooperation and
technical capabilities of those governments.
That goes into security cooperation. that goes
into cooperation that we help facilitate between
them. If there is a particular fishing vessel
and they may not put into port in Peru because
they offload their cargo to a logistics vessel,
et cetera, et cetera, but they may put into the
port of Montevideo. being able to facilitate
getting those bad actors. And also, there are
technical capabilities that we, in terms of ISR,
in military terms, in other things, where we
can help bolster the capability of our partners
not only to respond but to have maritime domain
awareness as well as in protecting other certain
vulnerable areas like maritime protected areas.
And would you say that what we see in part is
a regulatory arbitrage activity that's occurring.
So it's not just IUU, but it's also the fact
that once they're outside of the exclusive economic
zone of the United States, they engage in fishing
practices that we would not condone here in the
United States. They're involved in destructive
environmental practices, over -harvesting, et
cetera. Exactly. There's an issue with the laws
that govern, depending on where the fishing is
taking place or if they're right outside of those
exclusive economic zones. There's also an issue
of coordination between the different countries
that are involved, because these fishing fleets
oftentimes follow the fish. And as you also point
out, the problem when they do not put into ports,
and how do you regulate and go after the logistic
ships and others that offload those catches?
Thank you. Thank you, sir. I now recognize our
ranking member, Dr. Dexter. Thank you very much,
Mr. Chair. Mr. Newcomer, I'm going to follow
up with a couple other questions. I understand
in following up on Representative Baggich's question
line, I understand increased penalties for wildlife
trafficking may be helpful. What other opportunities
would you see for limiting the market for those?
animals or products, for instance, increased
penalties for those purchasing or selling or
what other mechanisms might you offer to not
just hold those accountable who bring them in,
but hold those accountable who then sell them
or distribute them? Yeah, you know, there's a
lot of what the U .S. Fish and Wildlife Service
does is dependent on kind of an interstate movement
of the wildlife. So any time It's just an extra
element that the investigator has to prove. But
a lot of times, just possessing the wildlife
itself can be a crime. And if the law is written
in a way where possession is illegal, and I'm
not required to prove interstate transport as
an investigator, that makes my job a lot easier.
And I'm a lot more difficult for the bad guys
to create confusion and duck and avoid me. That
makes a lot of sense. And I understand that Fish
and Wildlife Services may not be currently engaged
in all the task forces that they may be able
to offer insight or help to. What would be some
of those task forces? Yeah, I'm actually really
concerned about what I'm hearing about that lately.
For example, even with IUU, there's a working
group called the M -SAFE working group, which
stands for Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement.
It's embarrassing to say, but that's been described
by one of my former colleagues as a PowerPoint
party. Nothing comes out of it. No cases have
come out of it. No prosecutions have come out
of the M -SAFE Working Group, which is to address
IUU. There's another one called the Timber Trafficking
Working Group, which has been stood up by the
Department of Justice now for two years. Not
a single case, not a single prosecution has come
out of it. And my understanding is US Fish and
Wildlife Service agents don't even participate.
which you know I know they have limited resources
but you know at some point you have to you have
to make things work and there's some things you
just can't ignore and then the last is there's
a presidential task force on wildlife trafficking
and again my understanding is it's irregularly
attended by Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement
or if it is attended it's by senior senior managers,
senior leaders and the information out of that
task force isn't getting disseminated down to
the field and the boots on the ground agents
are dying to participate in these task forces.
They want to be there. They want to make the
cases and they're either told they can't go or
they're not informed about what's going on. I
very much appreciate that and if I may take the
liberty. Chairman Gozar often asks our folks
who have come to testify, what is a question
that you wish you had been asked and what was
your answer? And if I may, I'll just go down
the line starting with you, Dr. Ellis. So what
is a question that you wish we had asked and
what is the answer? Thank you very much, ma 'am.
And I think we've touched on this indirectly,
but for me, especially with the focus of this
hearing, it is what is the relationship between
these activities that are environmentally damaging,
that are affecting the region where they occur,
and US national security. And so it's really
kind of understanding how these illicit economies
not only cause damage, but also create the opportunities
through people, through money laundering, through
physical access that also comes back. to that
security threat that you so aptly referred to.
Very good. Thank you, Mr. Benavides. Pides, sorry.
Thank you. I guess the most important to me and
near and dear to my heart would be, how do you
effectuate the illegal markets by removing the
market? And specifically with things like rhino
would be, what is the silver bullet that you
need to kill the werewolf that's affecting these
animals? And that's simply deregulating the trade
of the horn. Deregulating the trade of? The horn.
The horn. Great. Thank you. And Mr. Newcomer.
Thank you, ma 'am. I would love to talk about
this issue, but we do not have enough time on
the rhino horn. But I think my major thing, since
we have talked a lot today about increasing penalties,
sentences. the real issue with the sentences
is when you get to the sentencing guidelines.
And I don't know how much power Congress has
to make those changes, but the US sentencing
guidelines have not changed with regard to wildlife
crime, environmental crime for decades. And it
doesn't really matter how much jail time you
put on a particular piece of legislation. Ultimately,
when that person is sentenced, a judge is going
to be looking at the sentencing guidelines. And
as long as they remain as low as they are, with
some wildlife crimes being the same as vandalism
of an outhouse at a national park, the person's
not going to get any jail time, because that's
not the way the guidelines work. So the guidelines
have got to be amended and changed and brought
up to where we are in the world. Thank you. Also
very helpful. And Dr. Kingsma. Yeah, thanks.
I think one question would be, how could Congress,
the US government, support American fishermen?
I think one answer is certainly restrict or prevent
imports that we're competing with through those
subsidized imports. But also support American
fishermen like Congress supports American farmers.
We don't have a fisheries bill. There's a farm
bill. And so there could be promotion, it could
be loans, low interest loans, development, a
whole range of things. Fishermen need support
now more than ever. Thank you. I will channel
my colleague, Representative Hoyle, and say she
would wholeheartedly agree with you on that.
So thank you very much. I yield back. The gentlelady
yields. I thank the witnesses for their valuable
testimony and the members for their questions.
The members of the committee may have some additional
questions for the witnesses. We may ask you to
respond to these in writing after the hearing.
Under Committee Rule 3, members of the committees
must submit questions to the subcommittee clerk
by 5 p .m. on Monday, January 26th. The hearing
record will be held open for 10 business days
for these responses. If there is no further business.
interrupt yes okay i'm sorry for the mr chairman
i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record
three letters addressed to this community regarding
today's hearing the first is from lincoln park
zoo dated january 20th 2026 second is from the
conservation society of california at the oakland
zoo also received january 2026 and the third
letter is from the animal welfare institute dated
january 21st 2026 without objection so ordered
thank you very much Without objection, the subcommittee
stands adjourned.