WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) , ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the Department of Interior’s budget, released the following statement after the Trump administration released new regulations rolling back the Endangered Species Act (ESA):
“Today, the Trump administration issued regulations that take a wrecking ball to one of our oldest and most effective environmental laws, the Endangered Species Act. As we have seen time and time again, no environmental protection – no matter how effective or popular – is safe from this administration.
“If it weren’t for the Endangered Species Act, some of our most iconic species – including the bald eagle, the gray whale, and the grizzly bear – would likely be extinct. For more than 40 years, the ESA has been a pillar of environmental protection in this nation. Its success – and its support among the American people – are undeniable. But this administration’s determination to dismantle bedrock environmental laws, turn a blind eye to science, and roll over for special interests apparently knows no bounds.
“Allowing cost calculations of big polluters to determine whether a species deserves protection – while denying climate science and rolling back protections for habitat – is the absolute wrong approach at a time when we are in the middle of a human-caused sixth mass extinction. We need to strengthen the ESA, not cripple it. I look forward to working with a coalition in Congress to block this dangerous rollback, and we will consider stopping these regulations by any means – including the Congressional Review Act.”
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