U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) on March 30 led nine Republicans in proposing a joint resolution that disapproves of the northern long-eared bat’s listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) made last November by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The listing of the northern long-eared bat is an example of the ESA being used to stifle development rather than its intended purpose, which is to protect species from human-caused harm,” Rep. Stauber said on Monday. “We need to overturn this listing.”
Rep. Stauber sponsored House Joint Resolution 49 with nine original cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), to provide for congressional disapproval under the U.S. Code of the rule submitted by the Fish and Wildlife Service related to “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Northern Long-Eared Bat,” according to the text of the resolution, which says the rule “shall have no force or effect.”
“The northern long-eared bat unfortunately suffers from white-nose syndrome through no fault of humans whatsoever. The listing of the bat due to this disease declares open season for environmental groups to target desperately needed development across the bat’s entire range, which covers most of the continental United States,” said Rep. Stauber. “If we’re to build infrastructure, permit electricity transmission, mine for resources needed for everyday life, and properly manage our forests, we need common-sense habitat conservation plans that protect wildlife without harming our economy.”
The resolution was introduced under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which provides Congress with a tool to overturn administrative regulations. If a CRA joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, then the rule at issue cannot go into effect or continue in effect, according to information provided by Rep. Stauber’s staff.
The U.S. Senate version of the CRA, Senate Joint Resolution 24, also was sponsored on March 30 by U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and 10 GOP original cosponsors, including U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and John Hoeven (R-ND).
“I am strongly against one-size-fits-all regulation from Washington bureaucrats, and this is no different,” he said. “We must stop this reclassification and ensure our state and other impacted states can continue efforts to protect this species without the heavy hand of the federal government getting in their way.”