Lawmakers have cleared a resolution that would overturn the Biden administration’s listing of the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act, but the measure failed to get veto-proof majorities in either the House or Senate.
The House approved the resolution 221-206 last Thursday, but the measure garnered only four Democratic votes, leaving it far short of the two-thirds majority needed to overcome an expected veto by President Joe Biden. The Senate approved the Congressional Review Act resolution sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on a 50-48 vote in May.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., said the listing undermines private conservation efforts that have resulted in increased populations of the birds.
“The unavoidable truth about the ESA is that a listing means less private investment, which harms conservation efforts,” Westerman said.
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But the committee’s top Democrat, Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, said such resolutions “give industry and not science the upper hand in making decisions about endangered decisions.” He accused Republicans of carrying out a “vendetta against the Endangered Species Act.”
Similarly, the House voted 220-209 to approve a resolution challenging the listing of the northern long-eared bat.
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