Audubon Warns of U.S. House of Representatives’ Effort to Undermine Environmental Regulatory Standards

WASHINGTON (July 9, 2024) – The National Audubon Society today expressed concern that the annual federal appropriations process by the House of Representatives could undermine efforts to promote climate solutions, protect America’s natural resources and address biodiversity loss, which has led to the extinction of 3 billion birds in North America since 1970.

Of particular concern are elements of the fiscal year 2025 budget bill on energy and water and the fiscal year 2025 budget bill on interior, environment, and related agencies. While the bills contain some beneficial elements, they would also weaken the tools to combat climate change and undermine U.S. efforts to become more climate resilient.

“We need robust funding to address the urgent threats of climate change and biodiversity. Birds are telling us we need to do more to invest in their future and ours,” said Jesse Walls, senior director of government affairs at the National Audubon Society. “We strongly urge Congress to maintain and expand investments in clean energy and water so we can address the urgent climate and conservation challenges facing Americans, birds, and other wildlife.”

The bills include funding for several important conservation priorities, such as funding for the Everglades, Great Lakes restoration initiatives, the Delaware River Basin, and research on the impacts of offshore wind on wildlife, as well as maintaining funding levels for the North American Wetlands Protection Act.

But the Energy and Water Act would weaken the tools we use to fight climate change and undermine America’s efforts to become more climate-resilient. The Interior Act cuts funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by 20% and includes a number of policy fixes, including:

· prohibiting the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce a draft resource management plan amendment or draft environmental impact statement for the entire sage-grouse range planning area,

· blocking final regulations that would update and clarify the provisions for the protection of endangered and threatened wildlife and plant species, and

Blocking funding for assessing the value of ecosystems, environmental services and natural resources in federal regulatory decisions, which would deepen the biodiversity and climate crises.

Two-thirds of North America’s birds are now threatened with extinction due to climate change and the natural disasters that are compounding the crisis, such as more intense wildfires, more violent storms, rising sea levels and severe droughts.

The proposed budget cuts at the Department of the Interior would undermine essential laws like the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as carbon reduction efforts and programs that help American communities become more resilient to growing and costly natural disasters. The proposed legislation also cuts resources to the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, threatening jobs and harming communities that rely heavily on the outdoor recreation economy.

“Going forward, we ask Congress to separate the debt ceiling adjustments from the appropriations process, eliminating budget caps and allowing lawmakers to pursue science-based solutions that address the environmental threats Americans see and feel in their neighborhoods,” Walls said. “We also ask congressional leaders to advance a bipartisan appropriations text and allow the amendment process to proceed as intended.”

About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works across the Americas, using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unmatched wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world where people and wildlife thrive. Find out more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.

Contact with the media: Robyn Shepherd, [email protected]