III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 516 

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19, 2023 

Mr. BOOKER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

Whereas Congress passed the Endangered Species Act of 

1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘Endangered Species Act’’) in December of 

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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•SRES 516 IS 

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 citizens of the United States 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 Endangered Species Act is currently helping 

protect and recover more than 2,000 species of plants 

and animals that are threatened or endangered; 

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 that 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; 

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; 


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•SRES 516 IS 

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

birds since 1970, which means more than 1 in 4 birds 

that have disappeared from the landscape in a mere half 

a century, and in that same time frame, 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, and mass mortality events of plants 

and animals, resulting in the first climate-driven 

extinctions, ecosystem restructuring, increases in areas 

burned by wildfire, and declines in key ecosystem services; 

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; 


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•SRES 516 IS 

Whereas the United States has prioritized the conservation of 

imperiled species by enacting the Endangered Species Act 

and other landmark conservation statutes; and 

Whereas the recovery of species under the Endangered Species Act is a remarkable success that should be celebrated: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate commemorates the 50th 

2 anniversary of the passage of the Endangered Species Act 

3 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Æ 


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