[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2491 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2491

To terminate certain rules issued by the Secretary of the Interior and 
    the Secretary of Commerce relating to endangered and threatened 
                    species, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 17, 2019

Mr. Udall (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. 
    Cantwell, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Harris, Mr. Sanders, Mr. 
Menendez, and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To terminate certain rules issued by the Secretary of the Interior and 
    the Secretary of Commerce relating to endangered and threatened 
                    species, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect America's Wildlife and Fish 
in Need of Conservation Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) global wildlife populations have fallen by 60 percent 
        over 4 decades due to habitat loss, pollution, deforestation, 
        climate change, and other anthropogenic factors;
            (2) current rates of species extinction are up to 1,000 
        times greater than the natural rate of extinction; and
            (3) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
        seq.) is one of the most popular and successful environmental 
        laws of the United States.

SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF REGULATIONS RELATING TO ENDANGERED AND 
              THREATENED SPECIES AND RESTORATION OF PRIOR REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The amendments to parts 17, 402, and 424 of title 
50, Code of Federal Regulations, made by the following final rules are 
void:
            (1) The final rule promulgated by the Secretary of the 
        Interior entitled ``Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and 
        Plants; Regulations for Prohibitions to Threatened Wildlife and 
        Plants'' (84 Fed. Reg. 44753 (August 27, 2019)).
            (2) The final rule promulgated by the Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Secretary of Commerce entitled ``Endangered 
        and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Interagency 
        Cooperation'' (84 Fed. Reg. 44976 (August 27, 2019)).
            (3) The final rule promulgated by the Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Secretary of Commerce entitled ``Endangered 
        and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Listing 
        Species and Designating Critical Habitat'' (84 Fed. Reg. 45020 
        (August 27, 2019)).
    (b) Effectiveness.--Parts 17, 402, and 424 of title 50, Code of 
Federal Regulations, shall be in effect as if the amendments voided 
under subsection (a) had not been made.
    (c) Promulgation of New Rules.--Any rule proposed by the Secretary 
of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce after the date of 
enactment of this Act to amend part 17, 402, or 424 of title 50, Code 
of Federal Regulations (other than any rule that is necessary to carry 
out subsections (a) and (b))--
            (1) shall analyze and incorporate the impacts of climate 
        change, including long-term impacts, on--
                    (A) species listed as threatened species or 
                endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 
                1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and species that are 
                candidates to be so listed; and
                    (B) the habitats of species described in 
                subparagraph (A);
            (2) may analyze and incorporate alternatives for providing 
        automatic protections under section 9(a) of the Endangered 
        Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538(a)) in the case of species 
        listed as threatened species under that Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
        seq.); and
            (3) may not--
                    (A) analyze or incorporate any positive or negative 
                economic impacts associated with the decision of 
                whether to list a species as a threatened species or an 
                endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 
                1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
                    (B) limit the authority of the Secretary of the 
                Interior or the Secretary of Commerce to consider the 
                impacts of climate change, including the long-term 
                impacts; or
                    (C) interfere in any manner with the best available 
                science.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Congress recognizes the potential benefit of clarifying 
        inconsistencies in--
                    (A) the past practices of the United States Fish 
                and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries 
                Service under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
                U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and
                    (B) interpretations by those agencies of 
                regulations under that Act, especially under section 7 
                of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1536); and
            (2) Congress acknowledges the importance of providing 
        incentives for landowners to conserve species, especially by 
        rewarding the landowners for--
                    (A) helping to prevent the need to add species to 
                the list of threatened species or endangered species 
                under that Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and
                    (B) successfully conserving species listed as 
                endangered species under that Act to the point that the 
                species can be downlisted to the list of threatened 
                species under that Act.
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