Markey, Rahall Introduce Legislation to Undo Bush Midnight ESA Rule
FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE
Contact: Select Committee, 202-225-4081
Markey, Rahall Introduce Legislation to Undo Bush Midnight ESA Rule
Legislation Would Reverse Weakening of Key Environmental Law
WASHINGTON (January 15, 2009) – Today, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who chairs key energy panels and is a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced a joint resolution with Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and other leading House Democrats, disapproving of the Bush administration’s recent actions to weaken Endangered Species Act protections. In its final days in office, the Bush administration has finalized a rule change that would remove Fish and Wildlife scientists from key decisions about the health of endangered species and ignore the impacts of global warming. Congress has the authority to undo such last-minute rule changes through legislative action.“These endangered species can’t protect themselves from last-minute Bush giveaways, so we will take action on their behalf,” said Rep. Markey, who chairs the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and the Energy and Environment Subcommittee. “The anti-science, anti-regulatory days of the Bush administration are over, and our government must once again address environmental questions with care.”
The legislative mechanism Rep. Markey and others have used in this legislation to battle the ESA rulemaking is the Congressional Review Act, which allows the Congress an opportunity to overturn rules issued by the executive branch in its final days in office. It has been used only once before in 2001 by the then Republican-controlled Congress to overturn a Clinton administration OSHA rule. The resolution of disapproval requires majority support in both chambers, and the signature of the sitting president.
The joint resolution is co-sponsored by George Miller (D-Calif.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), John Dingell (D-Mich.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), Sam Farr (D-Calif.), and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.).
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The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming was formed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to increase the visibility and priority given to America's oil dependence and global warming challenges. It is chaired by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and will actively explore the solutions, science and progress on these pressing issues during the 110th Congress.
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