House Votes to Gut the Endangered Species Act

The GOP's assault on the environment continued this month as the US House of Representatives approved a bill to "reform" the Endangered Species Act by a vote of 229-193.

The bill, written by California Republican Richard Pombo, eliminates many of the habitat protections in the 32-year-old law, and requires the federal government to reimburse land owners for lost profits if the ESA limits their development options. However, it does nothing to fund those payments, essentially making it impossible for the federal government to regulate developers.

While many environmentalists agree that the Endangered Species Act was due to be modernized, Pombo's bill is "not a modernization of the Act, it is euthanizing it," Congressman Inlsee said.

Rhode Island Republican Lincoln Chafee is leading a parallel effort in the Senate to reform the ESA, but has said that his bill would not eliminate habitat protections as Pombo's bill does.

However, if the House and Senate pass different versions, the bills would have to be reconciled in Conference Committee, and most observers believe the final product would be closer to the House version then the Senate version. It's not clear if the reconciled bill would pass the Senate.