Rep. Mann fights overreaching lesser prairie-chicken rule
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) and Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) led their colleagues, Representatives Frank Lucas (OK-03), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Ron Estes (KS-04), Stephanie Bice (OK-05), Ronny Jackson (TX-13), Jake LaTurner (KS-02), August Pfluger (TX-11), and Josh Brecheen (OK-02), and Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), James Lankford (R-OK), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) in reintroducing their joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to strike down the Biden Administration’s listing of the lesser prairie-chicken’s (LPC) northern distinct population segment as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If the CRA resolution is enacted, the measure would prevent the listing from having any force or effect.
“I refuse to sit idly by while the United States Fish and Wildlife Service imposes burdensome regulations on producers with no input from Congress,” said Rep. Mann. “The designation of the lesser prairie-chicken as a threatened species in places like Kansas is unacceptable. This resolution calls for an absolute refusal of this rule, which should have no force or effect until Congress is consulted. At a time when inflation is running rampant and families are struggling to fuel their cars while keeping food on their tables, we should be working to eliminate barriers for the agriculture and energy sectors, not hamstringing hardworking Americans with government overreach. Since this rule threatens the livelihoods of the men and women who feed, fuel, and clothe us all, I hope that all my colleagues in Congress will join me in refusing to accept it.”
“Placing the lesser prairie-chicken on the endangered species list should not be happening in the first place. Farmers, ranchers, and others in Kansas and the region have been instrumental in the recovery of the species to this point while the climate activists demanding this rule have no understanding of the threat it poses to Kansas’s economy, especially the energy and ag industries. With inflation for food and gas prices still high and volatile, there is no room for destabilizing federal policy like this,” said Senator Marshall. “I will not back down on working towards having this rule eliminated in its entirety, and I encourage Secretary Haaland to permanently halt this listing.”
Background:
On June 15, 2021, Rep. Mann joined his colleagues in urging U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to not list the LPC under the ESA.
On July 16, 2021, Rep. Mann and Sens. Marshall and Moran led a group of their colleagues in requesting a 90-day extension to the comment period for the proposed listing of the LPC.
On December 22, 2022, Rep. Mann and Sen. Marshall led the Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval to strike down the listing in the 117th Congress.
On January 12, 2023, Rep. Mann and Sen. Marshall led a group of their colleagues in requesting a delay of the final rule that would list the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act. Following this letter, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moved the effective date from January 24 to March 27, 2023.
This CRA is part of a multi-pronged approach to halting the lesser prairie-chicken that was announced by Rep. Mann, Senator Marshall, and Senator Moran in the 117th Congress.
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