[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4677-S4678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   REPORT OF THE VETO OF S.J. RES. 24, A JOINT RESOLUTION THAT WOULD 
DISAPPROVE THE FINAL RULE ENTITLED ``ENDANGERED AND THREATENED WILDLIFE 
AND PLANTS; ENDANGERED SPECIES STATUS FOR NORTHERN LONG-EARED BAT''--PM 
                                   23

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, spread in full upon the Journal, and held at the desk:

To The Senate of the United States:
  I am returning herewith without my approval S.J. Res. 24, a joint 
resolution that would disapprove the final rule entitled ``Endangered 
and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for 
Northern Long-Eared Bat.''
  The final rule, issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS), provides Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections to the 
northern long-eared bat, whose populations have been heavily impacted 
by white-nose syndrome. The northern long-eared bat now faces 
extinction due to white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that has spread 
across approximately 79 percent of the northern long-eared bat's entire 
range and is expected to affect 100 percent of the species' range by 
the end of the decade. Data indicate white-nose syndrome has caused 
estimated declines of 97 to 100 percent in affected northern long-eared 
bat populations. Following a rigorous review of the best available 
scientific and commercial information regarding the past, present, and 
future threats, as well as ongoing conservation efforts, the USFWS 
listed the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species under the 
ESA.
  S.J. Res. 24 would overturn a science-based rulemaking that follows 
the requirements of the law, and thereby undermines the ESA. Bats are 
critical to healthy, functioning ecosystems and contribute at least $3 
billion annually to the United States agriculture economy through pest 
control and pollination. If enacted, S.J. Res. 24 would undermine 
America's proud wildlife

[[Page S4678]]

conservation traditions and risk extinction of the species.
  Therefore, I am vetoing this resolution.
                                                 Joseph R. Biden, Jr.  
The White House, September 26, 2023.

                          ____________________