Booker, Colleagues Urge Senate Appropriations Committee to Protect Endangered Species Act, Ensure Full Funding

Letter

Dear Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins,
Thank you for your ongoing work on Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations bills. As the
Senate and House begin the process of conferencing FY24 appropriations for the Subcommittee
on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, we respectfully request that you reject any
and all riders that would undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA), including but not limited
to any targeted provisions to block protections for particular species or prevent federal agencies
from taking action to finalize, implement, or enforce proposed ESA rules.

In 1973, when an increasing number of plant and animal species were on the decline, Congress
passed the Endangered Species Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. This law has been
wildly successful, saving 99 percent of the wildlife under its protection from extinction.

Now, 50 years later, our world's wildlife is again at a critical juncture. As a result of human
impacts on our environment, we are facing a global extinction crisis on par with the events that
drove dinosaurs to extinction 65 million years ago. Species today are going extinct at a rate
thousands of times faster than natural extinction rates. Scientists estimate that more than one in
six species are threatened with extinction this century. We need the Endangered Species Act now
more than ever. But in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act,
this Congress has been one of the worst for the ESA, with over 50 legislative proposals to
undermine the Act.

We specifically ask that you block all riders that undermine the ESA, including provisions in the
House FY24 Interior Appropriations bill that would block federal protections for particular
species such as the gray wolf, sage-grouse, lesser prairie-chicken, grizzly bears, northern longeared bat and Texas kangaroo rat. The House Interior Appropriations bill also includes harmful
cuts to already-underfunded wildlife and public lands programs, and we encourage you to secure
the funding laid out in the Senate bill.

Decisions about protecting species under the Endangered Species Act should be made by
scientists, not politicians. The practice of cherry-picking certain species from the list of
threatened and endangered species--literally making life and death decisions--has no place in
the appropriations process.

Recent national polls indicate that 84 percent of American voters support the Endangered
Species Act. As you stand up for this critical law in the House and Senate bill conference
process, in the year of its 50th anniversary, you will be backed by our strong support, as well as
the support of an overwhelming majority of the public.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

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