Barbara Lee Applauds Restoration of Scientific Consultations under the Endangered Species Act
For Immediate Release
April 28, 2009
Contact: Nicole Y. Williams
(202) 225-2661
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee applauded Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s announcement that the two departments are revoking an eleventh-hour Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. Their decision requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the two agencies that administer the ESA – before taking any action that may affect threatened or endangered species.
“The Obama Administration has once again taken steps to rollback eight years of environmentally irresponsible policies under the Bush Administration,” said Congresswoman Lee. “The decision of Secretaries Locke and Salazar to revoke these harmful regulations will restore longstanding and scientifically grounded safeguards which serve to protect the biodiversity of our nation’s ecosystems and thousands of endangered and threatened species.”
In January, Congresswoman Lee introduced H.R. 585, the Environment and Public Health Restoration Act of 2009, which directs the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate and make recommendations to address ten of the most egregious changes to Federal rules and regulations under the Bush Administration, which could have potentially harmful impacts on public health, air quality, water quality, plant and animal wildlife, global climate, or the environment. This list included the Bush Administrations regulations governing interagency cooperation under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).