Questioning the Propriety of Certain Expenditures by the Department of the Interior in the Propogation and Conservation of the Hawaiian Nene Goose.

In enacting Public Law 85-891, the Congress recognized the fact that there then existed less than 50 rare Hawaiian nene geese in the wild state in the territory of Hawaii and that such species of native waterfowl was threatened with extinction. As a consequence, the Congress authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior the sum of $15,000 per year for a period of five years to be used to promote a program of research, propagation, and management necessary to effect the restoration of that species in its natural habitat. The Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, sought, obtained, and obligated additional appropriations of $15,000 in fiscal years 1965-1966 to continue the program. The propriety of the expenditures is in question, inasmuch as the authority contained in Public Law 85-891 expired with the close of fiscal year 1964 on June 30, 1964.