Recovering America's Wildlife Act

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA) is a bill in the United States Congress intended to provide funding for the conservation of wildlife in the United States.

Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2021
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleTo amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make supplemental funds available for management of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need as determined by State fish and wildlife agencies, and for other purposes.
Legislative history

In the 117th United States Congress, the House of Representatives passed it by 231–190, but although it passed the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on a bipartisan basis, it never passed the full Senate and therefore expired at the end of the Congressional term. However, its sponsors plan to reintroduce the legislation in the 118th Congress.[1]

Legislative history

117th Congress

Versions of the legislation have been proposed since at least 2016.[2] In the House of Representatives, the bill was first introduced in the 117th Congress on April 22, 2021, by lead sponsor Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI).[3][4] The lead Republican sponsor was Jeff Fortenberry,[5] who resigned from the House on March 31, 2022.[6] The House passed it by 231–190 on June 14, 2022.[7][8]

The lead sponsors in the Senate are Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Roy Blunt (R-MO). The act has 32 co-sponsors in the Senate, including 16 Republicans.[9][10] In late 2021, it was successfully voted out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee with bipartisan support.[11] In October 2022, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a supporter of the proposal, expressed optimism that it would pass before the end of the year, and noted that it was a top priority for Blunt, who was retiring at the end of the legislative session.[12]

As of December 12, 2022:

Congress Short title Bill number(s) Date introduced Sponsor(s) # of cosponsors Latest status
117th Congress Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2022 H.R. 2773 April 22, 2021 Debbie Dingell (D-MI) 194 Passed the House (231 - 190).[8]
S.2372 June 15, 2021 Martin Heinrich (D-NM) 47 Referred to committees of jurisdiction.

The RAWA never passed the full Senate in the 117th Congress and therefore expired at the end of the Congressional term on January 3rd, 2023.[1]

118th Congress

Senator Brian Schatz, a lead sponsor of the bill, plans to reintroduce the legislation in the 118th Congress.[1] Schatz told Vox that he is optimistic that the bill can pass on a bipartisan basis.[1] The bill was re-introduced by Sens. Thom Tillis and Martin Heinrich.[13]

Provisions

The bill would provide $1.3 billion in annual funding for conservation efforts aimed at supporting at-risk, endangered, and other species.[9][14] It would amend the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act, which supported species targeted by game hunters and sportsmen. The modern act would allocate 15% of that spending towards endangered species.[10] It would also direct nearly $100 million annually to tribal nations to support conservation work on about 140 million acres of land.[9] The bill is intended to help direct funding to less charismatic animals and more obscure issues than previous conservation legislation. The Texas heelsplitter mussel, the regal fritillary butterfly, and the red knot seabird were cited by the Washington Post as among the targeted species.[13]

The bill would be funded primarily through fees and penalties authorized by environmental regulations, which has raised concerns that the required funds may not always be reliably available.[10][9] The House-approved version of the bill was anticipated to raise the deficit by $14.1 billion by 2032, ten years after passage. As the bill was considered in the Senate, conservation organizations urged its combination with the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act, designed to eliminate tax breaks for fraudulent conservation easements, which would likely cover the costs of the RAWA.[15]

Support

RAWA is supported by the Biden White House, which released a statement on June 13, 2022, urging adoption of the bill.[16] It is also supported by major environmental organizations such as Audubon,[17] the WWF,[18] and The Nature Conservancy.[19] More than 1,000 advocacy groups have backed the legislation.[11] Public polling conducted in September by Data for Progress reported strong bipartisan public support for the bill.[20] The National Wildlife Federation has also expressed strong support for the bill.[1]

References
  1. Jones, Benji (January 11, 2023). "The US was poised to pass the biggest environmental law in a generation. What went wrong?". Vox. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  2. Barker, Eric (June 17, 2022). "Cash for conservation: Bill to funnel $1.4 billion into fish & wildlife programs passes U.S. House, heads to Senate". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  3. Dingell, Debbie (June 13, 2022). "H.R.2773 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2021". www.congress.gov. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  4. "Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2021 (H.R. 2773)". GovTrack.us. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  5. Wollan, Malia (February 2, 2022). "'An Environmentalist With a Gun': Inside Steven Rinella's Hunting Empire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  6. "Date for special election to replace Nebraska Congressman Jeff Fortenberry announced". KETV. April 1, 2022. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  7. Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (June 14, 2022). "Roll Call 267 Roll Call 267, Bill Number: H. R. 2773, 117th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  8. "House Passes Historic Legislation Securing Billions for Imperiled Wildlife". Center for Biological Diversity. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  9. Read, Zoë (January 18, 2022). "Recovering America's Wildlife Act: Conservationists' hope for species at risk". WHYY. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  10. Benshoff, Laura (June 14, 2022). "U.S. House passes a major wildlife conservation spending bill". NPR. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  11. Myers, John (June 23, 2022). "Landmark wildlife funding bill awaits U.S. Senate action after passing House". Duluth News Tribune. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  12. Stanley, Greg (October 4, 2022). "A bipartisan bill in Congress could mark a new chapter in the fight to preserve wildlife". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  13. Joselow, Maxine; Grandoni, Dino (April 5, 2023). "Pandas and eagles are wildlife rock stars. What about saving less lovable animals?". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  14. Renkl, Margaret (June 20, 2022). "Opinion | Washington Might Be About to Do Something Right for America's Wildlife". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  15. Smith, Paul A. (June 18, 2022). "A bill to save threatened and endangered wildlife has passed the House but could stall over funding". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  16. Executive Office of the President (June 13, 2022). "H.R. 2773 – Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2022" (PDF). Statement of Administration Policy. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  17. "Bipartisan Legislation to Fund Wildlife Recovery Introduced in the U.S. Senate". Audubon. July 20, 2021. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  18. "WWF Statement on the Recovering America's Wildlife Act". World Wildlife Fund. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  19. Scott, Suzanne (May 22, 2022). "Here's how to protect 1,300 at-risk animal species in Texas". Dallas News. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  20. Smith, Paul A. (September 24, 2022). "New surveys highlight broad public support for Recovering America's Wildlife Act". Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
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