Press Releases
The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Week of July 24, 2023
Washington,
July 23, 2023
Here’s what to watch for on the House Floor this week:
Honoring Commitments to Veterans and Supporting Strong National Security Congress has a fundamental duty to fund the government responsibly, providing for important programs while cutting waste and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent on what matters – like supporting our veterans, national defense, and homeland security. House Republicans have put together a plan to keep America’s promise to its veterans and provide the necessary funds for military construction to support our national security. The FY24 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill fully funds veterans’ health care, ensures our veterans have access to the medical treatment they deserve, and supports other critical VA programs. Additionally, the bill cuts wasteful spending by prohibiting funds to lobby Congress, promote critical race theory, or carry out the Biden Administration’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion. H.R. 4366, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, introduced by Rep. John Carter, provides FY24 appropriations for military construction, the VA, and related agencies that honor our commitment to veterans, support a strong national security, and keep the executive branch in check. Our veterans deserve more from the government they fought to protect, and this appropriations bill delivers for the men and women who selflessly served this country.  Standing Up for Farmers Against Burdensome Regulation
On June 1, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a proposed rule to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), prohibiting the ‘take’ of the animal – you may not harm, harass, hunt, trap, shoot, etc. the lesser prairie chicken. The problem: the ESA also defines harm for endangered species as impairing behavioral patterns like breeding, feeding, sheltering, etc., meaning farmers, crops or livestock interacting with the species could be considered harm. Farmers who violate the ‘take’ ban could face up to $50,000 and one-year imprisonment per violation. In the areas of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado inhabited by the lesser prairie chicken, the agricultural sales value reaches nearly $14 billion and agriculture supports millions of well-paid jobs. This massive regulatory burden proposed by the Biden Administration’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife service hurts farmers and ranchers, punishes whole communities with economies supported by agriculture, and could have larger harmful effects on our national food supply. S.J. Res. 9, introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall, disapproves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service final rule listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act. House Republicans are standing up for our farmers and ranchers who work hard to produce food and goods for our country against ridiculous red-tape.  Cutting Red Tape Holding Back Infrastructure Projects On November 30, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule to list the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The primary cause of the decline of the northern long-eared bat species is called ‘white nose syndrome’, or WNS, which is a fungal pathogen that infects bats’ skin. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has even said that there are currently “no proven measures to reduce the severity of WNS.” The northern long-eared bat was previously listed as threatened with an accompanying rule that focused regulations on what was advisable to conserve the species, instead of broadly imposing regulations that have detrimental impacts on infrastructure development. This uplisting to endangered will do very little to conserve the northern long-eared bat population while placing severe burdens and delays on infrastructure projects that would not contribute to the decline of the species. We should be encouraging economic growth and development by supporting these important projects and the jobs they create – not layering on blanket regulations that will do nothing to mitigate the decline of the species. S.J. Res. 24, introduced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, disapproves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service final rule listing the northern long-eared bat as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act. House Republicans will continue working to cut burdensome, ineffective, and harmful regulations that kill jobs and hold our country back.  |