[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1583-S1584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Congressional Review Act Votes

  Madam President, on the first one, this is an unlikely one. Let me 
just say, Delaware has a very strong ag industry. If you look at the 
key industries in Delaware, our No. 1 slot, people think it is banking 
and chemicals and stuff like that. The No. 1 is agriculture. It has 
been agriculture for as long as I have lived in the First State. We 
raise a lot of chickens, we raise a lot of other things as well.
  One of the creatures that helps us best in managing the battle 
against pests in our State--and, as it turns out, in over 35 other 
States--is an unlikely creature called the long-eared bat. What I want 
to do today is to talk about the resolution being offered by our 
friends on the other side to reverse a critical habitat designation 
under the Endangered Species Act with respect to this listing of the 
northern long-eared bat as an endangered species.
  Madam President, last week, I came to the floor, you may recall, to 
this chamber to defend science-based protections for the lesser 
prairie-chicken. As I said then, that species has long been considered 
an important indicator of the health of American grasslands and 
prairie.
  Today, I rise in opposition to two new congressional review act 
resolutions which would revoke science-based rules under the Endangered 
Species Act. Simply put, the Endangered Species Act is our best tool to 
address biodiversity loss in the United States. We know biodiversity is 
worth preserving for many reasons, whether it be to protect human 
health or whether it is a moral imperative or to be good stewards of 
our one and only planet.
  The first resolution that we are going to consider would reinstate a 
rule from the Trump administration which limited the ability of the 
National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service to designate critical habitat based on the best available 
science.
  What is critical habitat, some may ask? They are areas that our 
Federal Agencies identify as key to the recovery of threatened and 
endangered species. The agencies subsequently propose these areas for 
protection, and the habitat becomes the focus of conservation efforts.
  The Trump-era rule that the CRA resolution would reinstate was 
especially damaging for species that are imperiled due to climate 
change. The

[[Page S1584]]

rule prevented the relevant Federal Agencies from designating critical 
habitat in areas that are not currently suitable habitat but could be 
in the future.
  For example, when a species' habitat range shifts as a result of 
climate change, our Federal wildlife protection agencies may need to 
account for this shift when they decide what potential habitat we 
should protect to support their long-term recovery.
  The number of imperiled species is growing, not diminishing, and more 
and more species are harmed by climate change, which, as we know, is 
getting more and more serious as the days go by. That is why our 
Federal Agencies need more, not less, flexibility to designate and 
protect habitat. That is our first resolution, S.J. Res. 23.
  The second resolution we are considering today would overturn another 
science-based rule, reclassifying the northern long-eared bat from 
threatened to endangered species status.
  Most people have never heard of the northern long-eared bat. They 
don't even think they exist, but they do in 37 States. And they are 
really good at one thing--eating pests, eating insects. There is 
actually a dollar value that has been put on what they can do and the 
contributions they make to agriculture in my State and 30-some other 
States, and the amount of money is over $3 to $4 billion a year.
  These bats are found in 37 states from as far east as Maine, down the 
eastern seaboard, from Delaware all the way down to Louisiana.
  Unfortunately, there is a disease called white-nose syndrome. Some 
people may have never heard of this bat, but they have heard of white-
nose syndrome. But it is responsible for nearly 80 percent of the bat's 
habitat range in recent years. Data shows that white-nose syndrome has 
killed between 97 to 100 percent of northern long-eared bats in 
infected colonies. That, in addition to other factors, like habitat 
loss and climate change, has contributed to this important species' 
decline.

  Bats, including the northern long-eared bat, contribute to an 
estimated $3 to $4 billion annually--I have actually heard it is as 
high as tens of billions of dollars to our Nation's agricultural 
economy. In any event, it is a lot. And the value impacts us and 
farmers all over the country. These bats basically provide service 
primarily through pest control and through pollination. The Biden rule 
not only helps the northern long-eared bats but also supports other bat 
species that are in decline due to white-nose syndrome. By protecting 
this species, we are protecting our farmers, our agricultural 
communities, and the revenues that they depend on.
  To that end, CRA resolutions that undermine the endangered species 
and more generally, science, are in my view a dangerous diversion from 
the real work of protecting our environment and, for that matter, our 
economy.
  As a recovering Governor with a little State with a big agricultural 
economy and as the current chairman of the Environment and Public Works 
Committee, I believe we can protect our environment, including the 
species with which we share our planet while supporting economic 
development and job creation.
  It is my hope that we can work together in ways to support these 
goals in a truly bipartisan fashion. With that in mind, I oppose the 
two resolutions I talked about, S.J. Res. 23 and S.J. Res. 24. I invite 
all my colleagues, Democratic and Republican, to join me in voting no.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. PETERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my 
remarks prior to the scheduled vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.