IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 881 

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2023 

Mr. BEYER (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. THOMPSON of 

California, Mr. NADLER, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 

SMITH of Washington, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. 

TITUS, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. 

MAGAZINER, and Mr. SOTO) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

Whereas Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in December 1973 by a vote of 92–0 in the Senate and 355– 

4 in the House of Representatives; 

Whereas President Richard Nixon, upon signing the Endangered Species Act into law, stated, ‘‘Nothing is more 

priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich 

array of animal life with which our country has been 

blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a 

vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans [and] 


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•HRES 881 IH 

which we hold in trust to countless future generations of 

our fellow citizens.’’; 

Whereas decades of polling have shown strong bipartisan support for the Endangered Species Act, with more than 4 

out of 5 Americans in favor of it; 

Whereas the Endangered Species Act is one of the most successful conservation laws ever enacted by any country, 

and 99 percent of species protected under the Act have 

been saved from extinction, including the humpback 

whale, grizzly bear, and bald eagle; 

Whereas thanks to the Endangered Species Act, gray whales 

still swim our coasts, peregrine falcons still soar our 

skies, and polar bears still roam the Arctic tundra; 

Whereas the Act is currently helping protect and recover 

more than 2,000 species of plants and animals that are 

threatened or endangered; 

Whereas section 2(b) of the Endangered Species Act incorporates habitat conservation by stating that one of the 

purposes of the Act is ‘‘to provide a means whereby the 

ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved’’; 

Whereas the Endangered Species Act provides added benefits 

to people by maintaining healthy natural systems that 

provide us with clean air and water, food, medicines, and 

other benefits that we all need to live healthy lives; 

Whereas the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on 

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services published a study in 

2019 that estimated 25 percent of assessed taxa of plants 

and animals and 10 percent of insects, which account for 

75 percent of all species, could be threatened with extinction; 


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•HRES 881 IH 

Whereas, globally, 1,000,000 animal and plant species face 

extinction within the coming decades, and millions more 

are declining as habitat loss, climate change, wildlife exploitation, pollution, and other human activities continue 

to threaten their survival; 

Whereas North America alone has lost nearly 3,000,000,000 

birds since 1970, which is more than 1 in 4 birds that 

have disappeared from the landscape in a mere half a 

century, and in that same timeframe, global wildlife populations have declined by an average of 69 percent; 

Whereas, in the United States, nearly half of all ecosystems 

are at risk of range-wide collapse; 

Whereas, as of October 2023, a total of 2,363 species of animals and plants were listed as either endangered or 

threatened, and 1,668 of all listed species occur in the 

United States and its territories, and the remainder (695 

species) occur solely in other countries; 

Whereas the unraveling of the natural world remains a fundamental threat to the well-being of all humanity, which 

depends on millions of species and the countless services 

that the web of life provides, and each extinction brings 

closer the collapse of these planetary life-support systems, 

including carbon sequestration, pollination, water purification, oxygen production, and disease regulation; 

Whereas the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

found that climate change has caused local species losses, 

increases in disease (high confidence), and mass mortality events of plants and animals (very high confidence), resulting in the first climate-driven extinctions 

(medium confidence), ecosystem restructuring, increases 


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•HRES 881 IH 

in areas burned by wildfire (high confidence), and declines in key ecosystem services (high confidence); 

Whereas the planet is experiencing a biodiversity crisis, which 

many scientists conclude is the sixth mass extinction 

event, with plant and wildlife species across the globe facing heightened risk of extinction that is largely driven by 

human activity; 

Whereas the United States has prioritized the conservation of 

imperiled species by enacting the Endangered Species Act 

of 1973 and other landmark conservation statutes; and 

Whereas the recovery of species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is a remarkable success that should be 

celebrated: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives com2 memorates the 50th anniversary of the passage of the En3 dangered Species Act of 1973. 

Æ 


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