Mike Levin: “I am adamantly opposed to H.R. 478. This legislation is a transparent effort to gut the Endangered Species Act.…”

“I am adamantly opposed to H.R. 478. This legislation is a transparent effort to gut the Endangered Species Act. Supporters of this bill would have us believe that the Endangered Species Act was somehow responsible for the tragic floods that occurred earlier this year in the Midwest and California. There is simply no evidence to support their claim that the Endangered Species Act was in any way linked to these events. Both the Interior and Commerce Departments have emphatically stated that there were no cases where it could be demonstrated that the implementation of the Endangered Species Act caused any flood structure to fail. The truth is that the floods in California and the Midwest were the result of storms that were unprecedented in recent history. Reservoirs and levees were simply overwhelmed. It should be noted the Endangered Species Act already contains emergency waiver provisions that permit the President to grant exemptions to ESA regulations in major disaster areas. The legislation before us would undermine the basic protections of the Endangered Species Act.”