“Congress did not establish the Endangered Species Committee to give out sweeping exemptions to special interests, and this abuse of power is another corrupt handout to benefit industry at the expense of threatened species,” said Rep. Beyer. “If Trump wants to address the energy crisis and outrageous price spikes he caused, he should simply end his illegal war against Iran. This unprecedented decision bypassed legally required procedures, blocked my attendance at a public meeting, and put some of the Gulf’s most vulnerable wildlife at even greater risk of extinction. This is a particular threat to the Rice’s whale, the only whale species found exclusively in US waters, of which only about 50 remain. The consequences of weakening these protections extend far beyond a single species, and my Protect Gulf Life Act would restore these protections to ensure a healthy Gulf ecosystem that supports thriving fisheries, tourism, recreation, and coastal economies across the region.”

The Endangered Species Committee was created by Congress to address extraordinarily rare situations in which a proposed federal project conflicts with endangered species protections and no reasonable alternatives exist. This was only the fourth time the Endangered Species Committee met since its creation in 1978, and the first time it had been convened on national security rather than economic grounds. Unlike prior Endangered Species Committee decisions, which focused on narrowly defined projects affecting a specific threatened or endangered species, the March 31 exemption applies broadly to all oil and gas operations across more than 600,000 square miles of the Gulf and affects 20 threatened and endangered species. The Endangered Species Committee also failed to comply with multiple procedural requirements established under the Endangered Species Act, including public notice and transparency requirements.

Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Shomari Figures (D-AL), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), and Darren Soto (D-FL) are original co-sponsors of the Protect Gulf Life Act.

This legislation is also supported by organizations including the Animal Welfare Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice Action, the Endangered Species Coalition, Oceana, Save the Manatee Club, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Sierra Club, and the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

Full text of the legislation is available here, with a one-pager available here.