©2025 League of Conservation Voters
Issues
Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) sponsored S.J. Res. 9, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval, which would repeal the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) rule protecting lesser prairie-chickens under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The CRA is an extreme and blunt tool that is being used by anti-environmental members of Congress who want to permanently strip away protections for our environment, wildlife, and natural heritage. In this case, use of the CRA could prevent FWS from ever protecting the lesser prairie-chicken under the ESA in the future, even if the populations collapsed or just a handful of individual birds remained. Alarmingly, this was the first time in the CRA’s 30-year history that Congress has attempted to use this law to rescind ESA protections for an individual species. On May 3, the Senate approved S.J. Res. 9 by a vote of 50-48. The House approved S.J. Res. 9 on July 27; however, the president vetoed it on September 26, and on September 28, the Senate failed to override the president’s veto.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters