Natural Resources Committee Democrats Reject Republican Attack on Endangered Species Badly Disguised as California Drought Bill

Press Release

Ahead of today's expected House debate on H.R. 2898, the Republican attack on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) disguised as a California drought bill, Natural Resources Committee Democrats highlighted this year's many GOP attempts to weaken the law by singling out individual species that Republicans have decided are no longer worth saving.

H.R. 2898, which President Obama has already promised to veto because it does nothing to help Californians, weakens protections for delta smelt, which are nearly extinct in the wild, and for salmon and steelhead species in California. The bill is the latest in a long line of Republican efforts to chip away at the ESA rather than attempting to repeal or modify it through standalone legislation -- an attempt that would certainly fail given the law's 90 percent public approval rating. More information about Republicans' long, depressing history of trying to weaken the law one species at a time is available below.

"Despite their professed love for our public resources, some of my Republican colleagues just can't seem to find a species worth saving or habitat worth protecting," Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva said. "We hear the same wailing and gnashing of teeth every time about how if we could just let this species die already -- whether it's the delta smelt, the sage-grouse or the spotted owl -- our economy would finally take off and everyone would suddenly be happier. That's not how reality works, that's not what the public wants, and that's not how a functional Congress does business. This bill is a major disappointment to me, to the people of California, and to the ninety percent of Americans who think the Endangered Species Act is worth preserving. I hope it doesn't even make it as far as President Obama's veto pen."

"The alleged drought-relief bill is yet another example of Republicans turning their backs on science, weakening Endangered Species Act protections, and denying the facts -- that climate change is playing a role in conditions many states in the West face -- and instead gutting key environmental protections," said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). "We must have a serious conversation about how we solve these issues in Arizona and across the West, but recklessly abandoning environmental protections moves us backwards."

"This crisis should bring us together to find a long-term, sustainable solution that keeps our water safe, clean, and accessible for all Americans," said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). "This bill gambles with the lives of our endangered species and the ecosystems they help to maintain. We need to mitigate the damages from climate change, rather than undermine the Endangered Species Act."

"In this fourth consecutive year of drought, it is more critical than ever to work in a bipartisan manner to solve California's water challenges," said Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), the Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Water Infrastructure and Environment. "Unfortunately, Republicans chose to not consult California Democrats, water agencies, state agencies, cities, or tribes, and rushed a bill to the floor that produces no new water and focuses on the Central Valley at the expense of the rest of the state. This drought affects all of us, and the Republicans' water grab would increase pumping to the Central Valley while cutting water deliveries to Southern Californians, who have diligently stepped up their conservation efforts to reduce water consumption. My bill, the Water in the 21st Century Act, would provide actual drought relief to all of California through conservation programs, recycling projects, groundwater improvement operations, stormwater capture solutions, and desalination. Instead of the misguided short-term patch before us today, we must support long-term solutions with shovel-ready jobs that quickly create water."

"Unfortunately, Republicans have once again treated the record Western drought as a political opportunity and dusted off the same political agenda they've pursued for years: weakening the Endangered Species Act, gutting fishery protections, and redirecting water needed by other regions," said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans. "This isn't a responsible drought response, and this closed-door process is not a good way to make policy. In the face of the worst drought in California history, we need Congress to get serious."

"Legislation to provide drought relief to California should protect both humans and the environment," said Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. Instead, this bill undermines Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections, threatens important economic sectors in California, and blocks the State of California's progress in responding to the drought. There is a role the federal government can play in responding to the drought, but what Republicans have done here is pick their favorite sector and region of the state--Central Valley Farmers--and go after the laws they dislike like ESA, all in the name of food security."