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

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led 29 Senate Democrats in a letter calling on leaders of the Senate Committee on Appropriations to reject any and all riders that would undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to ensure full funding as Interior appropriations packages for the 2024 Fiscal Year are in the process of being finalized.

"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," the lawmakers wrote.

"We specifically ask that you block all riders that undermine the ESA, including provisions in the House FY 2024 Interior appropriations bill that would block federal protections for particular species such as the gray wolf, sage-grouse, lesser prairie-chicken, grizzly bears, northern long-eared 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," continued the lawmakers.

The ESA is one the most successful and popular conservation laws ever enacted by any country, with recent polls indicating 84 percent of U.S. citizens support it. The lawmakers wrote "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."

The Senators concluded the letter by promising their full support as Senate Appropriations leaders stand up for this critical law in the Senate and House bill conference process.

The letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gilliband (D-MA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-NY), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full text of the letter can be found here.

In December, Booker introduced a resolution commemorating 50 years of the ESA, reaffirming the role this legislation has played in safeguarding global biodiversity and emphasizing the continuing necessity of this important legislation during the current extinction crisis. Booker is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.