Update: This bill failed to pass before the end of the 113th Congress.
Bill Description:
This bill would severely weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which has a remarkable track record of saving species from extinction over four decades. S.1731/H.R. 3533 would require the federal delisting of all species every five years, regardless of how fragile their populations are. All legal protections would be eliminated until Congress passed a joint resolution renewing their protections under the act for another five years. Five years later, this process would start over again. This wasteful procedure would repeatedly jeopardize species that depend on ESA safeguards for survival. [teaserbreak]
Additionally, the bill would eliminate all protections for the critical habitats of endangered species and allow state governments to opt-out of species protections mandated under the ESA. Meanwhile, federal wildlife agencies would need to laboriously estimate the costs of protecting endangered species rather than dedicate these resources to tangible conservation efforts.
The sponsors of this bill are driven to enact this detrimental legislation by powerful lobbying interests. Gutting the ESA will benefit logging, mining, and other corporations that wish to exploit the environment at any cost. The result of this bill would be the permanent disappearance of majestic wildlife across the country.
Don’t let corporations and their legislative allies undo all of the great accomplishments of the ESA. Contact your federal members of Congress and urge them to oppose S. 1731/H.R. 3533!
Read the full text of the bill and track its progress here.