{"id":1976904,"date":"2023-07-19T00:32:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T04:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-looks-to-reform-endangered-species-act\/"},"modified":"2023-07-19T00:36:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T04:36:01","slug":"house-gop-looks-to-reform-endangered-species-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-looks-to-reform-endangered-species-act\/","title":{"rendered":"House Republicans seek to revamp Endangered Species Act."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-gop-looks-to-reform-endangered-species-act%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1976904&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div\u2062 class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" \u200cdata-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0719\/83fbfecd-e049-4c74-8f9e-89813d30cad7\/audio.mp3?length=8465805&#038;duration=705\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Rolling \u2064back \u2064the\u200d regulatory restraints and costs imposed on\u200b industry and \u200bagriculture by the Endangered Species\u2064 Act \u200d(ESA) has been \u2062among conservative \u2062objectives since the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>With the ESA in 2023 marking the 50th year since it was adopted \u200dunder President\u200b Richard Nixon \u2063and a\u200b GOP-led \u2062Congress, \u200ba House\u2064 Republican working group is developing proposed revisions\u2063 to the landmark environmental regulation that\u2062 it plans to introduce late\u200d this year or\u2062 in \u20622024.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d House Natural Resources \u200dCommittee\u2019s assorted \u200bsub-panels have \u200dbeen \u2062staging hearings since\u200d March on the \u200bproblems\u2064 fostered by \u200bthe \u2063ESA, so\u200c it\u2062 was\u2062 no \u200dsurprise when its Water,\u200d Wildlife\u2064 and Fisheries \u200cSubcommittee scheduled a\u2063 July 18\u200c hearing entitled, \u201cESA\u2064 at 50: The Destructive\u200d Cost of the ESA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nor was it any \u2064surprise that everyone knew \u200dwhat everyone \u200celse \u2062would say at\u200c the \u200bhearing, which\u2063 would stretch two hours and include \u200ctestimony from\u2063 six witnesses, \u2062essentially four ESA\u200b reform advocates and two\u2064 Biden administration officials\u2014National Oceanic and Atmospheric\u200d Administration Deputy Administrator \u200bJanet Coit\u200c and \u200dU.S. \u2063Fish and\u200b Wildlife \u2064Service\u2064 Director Martha\u200b Williams.<\/p>\n<p>But you\u200c really only need listen\u200c to subcommittee chair Rep. Cliff\u200b Bentz (R-Ore.) and\u200d ranking member, or the panel\u2019s lead Democrat, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), \u200dto\u2064 hear the essentials\u2062 of the argument for and \u2062against overhauling \u2063a complex,\u200c massive law\u2064 that \u2063even proponents say\u200b does more to \u2063help \u2062law firms than it\u200d does\u200d endangered \u2062species and \u200cthe\u200d habitats they rely \u200con.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1817014\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n\t\t<a \u2062href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2015\/09\/eagle101549665.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tA bald\u200c eagle is seen prior to the\u2063 start of \u2062the\u200b game\u200d between the\u2063 St. Louis Cardinals \u2064and\u2064 Chicago Cubs on May 30,\u200d at Wrigley \u200cField in \u200bChicago, \u200cIll. (Jim McIsaac\/Getty \u200bImages)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<h2>Oft-Repeated Arguments<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe purpose of\u200c today\u2019s hearing\u200b is \u200cto review and\u200d acknowledge \u200cthe\u2063 destructive\u2062 costs of the Endangered Species Act,\u201d\u2064 said \u2062Mr. Bentz, with witnesses who can \u201ctestify to the costs the ESA imposes upon communities, states, \u2063ratepayers, businesses of \u200call\u200c sizes, other species in\u2062 every protected environment, our \u200dchildren,\u200d and the infirm, among\u200b many \u200bothers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u200bESA \u201cwas a\u2062 well-intentioned law,\u201d\u2062 he added, but after\u2064 a half-century in effect, \u2064the\u2064 law has \u2064cost \u201cuntold\u200c billions \u200dof expenditures, paid\u2064 many times by\u200d small communities and families\u2063 and the \u200dnation\u201d with\u2062 a\u2063 \u201cquestionable\u201d return on \u2064investment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s definitely time\u2062 to come\u200b up\u200d with\u2062 a better \u200dplan,\u201d\u2063 but\u2062 that\u2019s \u200cnot\u200c what proponents\u2014mostly Democrats\u2014will say, Mr. Bentz\u200c said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m absolutely certain we will\u2062 hear from some\u2062 folks \u2064across \u200cthe \u2064aisle \u2063in \u2064an \u200ceffort \u2064to hide or justify \u2064the\u2063 horrific\u200c costs of\u2064 this law that today\u2019s hearing\u200c is simply another effort to get\u200c rid of the ESA,\u201d\u2062 he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt \u2063is not, \u2064but it most\u200d certainly is an attempt to understand the ESA\u2019s costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It seems\u200d Mr. \u2062Huffman already \u2063knew \u200cwhat\u2064 Mr.\u200d Bentz \u2064would \u2063say about \u2062what he would say, \u200cand knew what \u200dfellow Republicans \u2063on the panel would say about \u200cthe ESA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can expect to \u2063hear the\u2064 usual anti-ESA tropes in \u200dthis hearing, \u2064like \u2064how threatened and \u2063endangered \u200cspecies, not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yellen-eager-to-work-with-china-on-debt-other-global-challenges\/\" title=\"Yellen \u2018eager\u2019 to work with China on debt, other global challenges\">climate \u2064change<\/a>, are responsible\u2063 for wildfires\u2064 and \u2063drought in\u2062 the West,\u201d he \u200csaid.\u200d \u201cWe\u2019ll\u200b also \u200bhear how\u200c the\u2063 ESA\u200c is \u2018Hotel \u2062California,\u2019 where \u2063species\u200c check \u2063in \u200cbut never leave, never get off the list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s \u2063because\u200d the ESA \u200cand \u200cfederal agencies\u200d that manage\u200b the\u200b law\u2063 are underfunded, Mr.\u2064 Huffman said, \u2063and\u200d species are often listed when \u2062they already face \u201can uphill\u200d battle for recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll\u2064 also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-looks-to-reform-endangered-species-act\/\" title=\"House Republicans seek to revamp Endangered Species Act.\">hear \u2064tales today\u2014tall tales\u2014<\/a>about how\u2062 the ESA\u200c stops vital \u2062projects from moving forward,\u201d he\u200c said. \u201cWe\u2019ve \u200cgot\u2062 to look \u200dat\u2064 the\u2064 facts,\u2062 folks, not the rhetoric. The reality \u200bis, according to\u200c a scientific review of over\u2064 88,000\u200d ESA \u2063consultations\u200d over seven years,\u200c zero \u200bprojects\u2063 were \u200bstopped, and zero\u200b projects were extensively altered\u2063 as\u200d a result\u200c of adverse modification\u2062 findings\u201d\u2062 from the ESA.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. \u2063Huffman mocked the idea that \u200dthe \u2064House \u200bGOP\u200c working group \u2064that is attempting to\u2062 \u201cmodernize\u201d the ESA\u2063 has only\u2064 one intention:\u2064 to gut it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTalking\u2063 about \u200ceuphemisms. Look \u2062at how they vote.,\u201d he said,\u200b noting the attempt\u200d last week\u200b by House \u2063Republicans to adopt a defense bill amendment to exempt the \u200bDOD from\u2063 the ESA and nearly all other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-has-signed-40-executive-orders-and-actions-since-taking-office\/\" title=\"Biden has signed 40 executive orders and actions since taking office\">environmental regulations<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s what they want to \u200cdo.\u200c And \u200ctoday,\u2064 \u2018Team Extreme\u2019 \u200cis \u200bat it\u2063 again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr.\u200b Huffman said the ESA \u200bis\u200d vital as \u2064the\u2064 country, the nation, faces \u201ca biodiversity crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure \u2063id=\"attachment_1815886\"\u2063 style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n\t\t<a\u2063 href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2015\/09\/wolfGo.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tGray wolves\u200b have recently been \u2063relisted \u200das\u200d an endangered species in the Northern Rocky\u200c Mountain region. (National Convseration \u200cTraining Center)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cToo many species are on the\u200b brink of extinction. We\u2062 don\u2019t have time \u2062for \u2064the Republican majority\u2063 to\u2064 hold\u200b hearings that scapegoat imperiled \u200cspecies and\u200d pretend like climate \u200cchange doesn\u2019t\u200b exist. These species are \u200dgoing extinct. Three of\u2062 them go extinct every hour.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Checking the clock, he \u2062added, \u2062\u201cWe have 10 minutes until \u200danother species is \u2062driven\u2062 to\u2062 extinction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since its\u2063 adoption, he\u200c said, \u2063the \u200bESA has \u201ckept 99\u2063 percent\u2063 of listed\u200d species from going extinct. It is our strongest \u200cbackstop \u200bagainst extinction \u2062for myriad species. And \u2064the \u200dsimple truth\u2063 is that extreme MAGA Republicans want to dismantle it.\u200d The only hearings \u200cthey\u2019ve held in this Congress have \u200cbeen about weakening and \u2064eliminating\u200b ESA\u2062 protections, \u2062including de-listings before \u200ba <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-confirms-americas-first-native-american-cabinet-secretary\/\" title=\"Senate Confirms America\u2019s First Native American Cabinet Secretary\">science-based decision<\/a> can even \u200cbe\u200c made.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Cost-Benefit Analysis Needed<\/h2>\n<p>Now that \u2064everyone\u200c heard what \u200ceveryone knew everyone was\u200c going to\u2063 say,\u200c Mr. \u2064Bentz\u200d said \u200bthe hearing\u2063 is not about\u200c the \u2063prospective\u2063 ESA amendments \u200bbut\u2064 about \u200bbringing \u201cthe cost of this law to \u2063the attention of the \u200cnation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome here today\u200d will, \u2063no doubt, ask and possibly even suggest, given its incredible\u200b cost, why\u200b hasn\u2019t Congress repealed this law? The answer is that\u200d we all want species \u200cto \u2063be safe. We\u2063 want to avoid causing species\u200d to\u2063 go extinct,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSoon \u2064we will introduce amendments to the act\u2063 that\u2062 will \u2062improve this protection of\u200c species without \u2063destroying\u2063 people and \u2063communities,\u200d without costing more \u200cmoney \u200dthan we can possibly \u2064find to\u200d address these\u200c issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Bentz said proponents have \u2064always\u200d made \u2064the argument either\u200b this, or either that, \u200bbut it \u2063is \u201cabsolutely \u200cpossible\u200d to \u200dquestion the \u200dcost of the\u200d ESA without questioning the need to \u2063protect species, even though\u2064 some\u2062 here will say\u2064 otherwise. \u200bCost \u2062does matter. Money isn\u2019t \u200bfree, and understanding what\u200d we get from what we \u200cspend is always relevant, and \u2064there are \u200dcertainly\u200c costs other than just\u200c money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The costs include those \u2062incurred by agencies \u200bin implementing the ESA, \u200bhe said, \u201cby \u200bmany\u2064 species\u200b [that] \u2062have\u200c water\u2064 taken from them\u200d and given to other\u200b species. The \u200bcost to the nation of extraordinary \u200bamounts \u2064of\u2063 delay \u2062and \u200dastounding amounts\u200c of money\u200d spent on\u200c the \u200bESA , the cost of\u2063 community destruction, and \u200cthe loss \u200bof\u200c activities\u2064 such\u2063 as logging and forest management, which are\u200d stopped by \u200bthe ESA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cost \u200dof the young and old as \u2064they breathe \u2063air\u200d heavy with \u200csmoke \u2064from \u2064wildfires as they \u2062ravage our fuel-burdened \u2064forests kept that \u2064way because \u200cof\u2064 lawsuits and bureaucracy creating a\u200b virtual<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>legislation to overhaul the ESA. Their aim is to reduce burdensome regulations and expenses for industry and agriculture. As the ESA approaches its 50th anniversary, conservatives have long sought to roll back these restrictions, and a House Republican working group is now crafting a bill to achieve this goal by 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":509,"featured_media":1976905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1976904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1976904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1976904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1976905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1976904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1976904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1976904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}