SE Wyoming News

Today, Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Senate Western Caucus Vice Chair Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions. These are intended to overturn the Biden administration's reversal of key reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) implemented by the Trump administration. The reforms in question aimed at increasing stakeholder engagement, defining critical habitat, and ensuring effective species recovery plans.

The senators argue that these CRAs will preserve the beneficial Trump-era reforms rather than replacing them with generalized mandates from Washington bureaucrats, which they believe could be detrimental to western lifestyles.

"The Endangered Species Act has been a failed and flawed piece of legislation for more than 50 years. With a less than 2% recovery rate, the Trump-era reforms finally represented a real and meaningful step in the right direction," said Lummis. "Instead of working with stakeholders out west to improve the ESA, the Biden administration chose to undo what worked and double down on what did not."

Sullivan added, "The Endangered Species Act was a well-intentioned law; however, the Biden administration is enacting ESA rules to promote a radical environmental agenda, despite the devastating impacts these rules have on our economy."

"Biden bureaucrats are abusing their authority to push through stifling regulations that will hurt our economy and burden private property owners," stated Ricketts. "These one-size-fits-all rules hurt landowners and refuse to take into account how they will hurt local economies."

The resolutions are cosponsored by several other senators including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Lee (R-UT), John Barrasso (R-WY), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Katie Britt (R-AL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and John Hoeven (R-ND).

The three Congressional Review Act resolutions aim to overturn a series of new rules put forth by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These rules reverse three key reforms to the Endangered Species Act implemented by the Trump administration in 2019.

On August 1, 2023, Senator Lummis sent a letter to FWS and NOAA asking for a comment period extension for the three rules that would roll back the Trump administration’s Endangered Species Act reforms. On May 11, 2023, the United States Senate passed a Congressional Review Act resolution introduced by Senator Lummis that would overturn the Biden administration’s ESA rule related to critical habitat. The CRA is awaiting consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On September 14, 2023, Chairman Newhouse and Chair Lummis introduced legislation to prevent the Departments of the Interior and Commerce from finalizing these rule proposals and retain the Trump-era regulations within the ESA.

On March 7, 2024, Senator Lummis introduced an amendment to the appropriations bill prohibiting funds from being used to finalize the three new ESA rules.