Chellie Pingree: “Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, and more than 1 million species are currently…”

“Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, and more than 1 million species are currently threatened with extinction, many within decades. This amendment seeks to legislate species status rather than providing species with the protections they are afforded under the Endangered Species Act, our principal conservation law, and it would potentially increase litigation regarding the government's responsibility to implement the statutory requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Once again, my Republican colleagues are disregarding the law. The best available scientific and commercial information, not politics, should determine whether a species is listed as threatened or endangered. This amendment circumvents the rigorous process that is in place to make these determinations as well as the role of public input. Human activities that are threatening and diminishing animal habitats, polluting nature, and accelerating global warming are driving species to extinction. When we lose a species, impacts reverberate throughout ecosystems, and we all suffer because our economy, health, livelihoods, food security, and quality of life all depend on healthy ecosystems. Defunding the service's ability to list species would work against the clear intent of the Endangered Species Act and would further litigation by outside groups on both sides.…”