Washington, D.C. - Today U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted against the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act (H.R. 3824). He supported a bipartisan substitute bill that narrowly lost and would have made commonsense reforms to the Endangered Species Act. H.R. 3824 passed the House by a vote of 229 - 193. He issued the following statement:

“For all its flaws, the Endangered Species Act provides an important safety net for endangered wildlife, plants and fish in Washington state and across the United States. 

“While the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected endangered species, I know that there are problems with the law. I have heard the concerns of farmers and landowners in my district. I agree that change is needed.

“Unfortunately, the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act goes too far in rolling back protections. While we must amend the critical habitat designation process, the protections in this bill may not even be legally binding.

“This bill is like cutting down the tree with the bald eagle’s nest in it when you could have just trimmed the branches.

“I did support a substitute to the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act that would bring commonsense reforms to the Endangered Species Act.

“Specifically, the substitute bill I supported makes needed reforms to the overly-broad critical habitat designation policy by requiring recovery plans specific to each site with measurable standards and steps to follow.

“The bill relieves the financial burdens on our landowners and provides financially-responsible incentives that encourage them to partner with the federal government in conservation.

“It widens the circle of input in decisions by requiring that the Department of Interior include local and state data in reports to Congress on endangered species.

“I could not support the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act because it proposes unreasonable solutions to reasonable concerns.

“While the substitute bill did not pass, I am hopeful that as this process moves forward, we can find reasonable solutions to the very real problems with the current Endangered Species Act.”