[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3845 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3845
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to expand the exemption
process under section 7 of that Act with respect to national security
and significant adverse national or regional economic impacts.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 9, 2025
Mr. Gray (for himself and Mr. Costa) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to expand the exemption
process under section 7 of that Act with respect to national security
and significant adverse national or regional economic impacts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EXPANSION OF EXEMPTION PROCESS UNDER SECTION 7 OF ENDANGERED
SPECIES ACT OF 1973.
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (g)--
(A) in paragraph (1), to read as follows:
``(1)(A) A Federal agency, the Governor of the State in
which an agency action will occur, if any, or a permit or
license applicant may apply to the Secretary for an exemption
for an agency action of such agency if, after consultation
under subsection (a)(2), the Secretary's opinion under
subsection (b) indicates that--
``(i) the agency action would violate subsection
(a)(2); or
``(ii) a modification or reasonable and prudent
alternative necessary for the agency action to comply
with subsection (a)(2) may--
``(I) impair national security; or
``(II) result in significant adverse
national or regional economic impacts.
``(B) An application for an exemption shall be considered
initially by the Secretary in the manner provided for in this
subsection, and shall be considered by the Committee for a
final determination under subsection (h) after a report is made
pursuant to paragraph (5).
``(C) The applicant for an exemption shall be referred to
as the `exemption applicant' in this section.'';
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), to read as
follows:
``(A) determine--
``(i) that the Federal agency concerned and the
exemption applicant have--
``(I) carried out the consultation
responsibilities described in subsection (a) in
good faith and made a reasonable and
responsible effort to develop and fairly
consider modifications or reasonable and
prudent alternatives to the proposed agency
action which would not violate subsection
(a)(2);
``(II) conducted any biological assessment
required by subsection (c); and
``(III) to the extent determinable within
the time provided herein, refrained from making
any irreversible or irretrievable commitment of
resources prohibited by subsection (d); and
``(ii) if the exemption applicant submitted to the
Secretary the application for exemption pursuant to
paragraph (1)(A)(ii), whether a modification or
reasonable and prudent alternative necessary for the
proposed agency action to comply with subsection (a)(2)
may--
``(I) impair national security; or
``(II) result in significant adverse
national or regional economic impacts; or'';
and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``(i), (ii), and (iii)'';
(C) in paragraph (4), by striking ``(i), (ii) and
(iii)''; and
(D) in paragraph (5)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (B)
through (D) as subparagraphs (C) through (E),
respectively; and
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (A)
the following:
``(B) if the exemption applicant submitted to the Secretary
the application for exemption pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(ii),
after consultation with the National Security Council regarding
potential impacts to national security and the Director of the
National Economic Council regarding potential significant
adverse national and regional economic impacts, any impairment
to national security or significant adverse national or
regional economic impacts that would result from a modification
or reasonable and prudent alternative necessary for the agency
action to comply with subsection (a)(2), including a
description of the analysis and conclusions produced by the
National Security Council and the Director of the National
Economic Council as a result of each such consultation;''; and
(2) in subsection (h)(1)(A)(i), to read as follows:
``(i)(I) there are no reasonable and prudent
alternatives to the agency action; or
``(II) with respect to an agency action the
application for exemption of which was submitted to the
Secretary pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(A)(ii), a
modification or reasonable and prudent alternative
necessary for the agency action to comply with
subsection (a)(2) may--
``(aa) impair national security; or
``(bb) result in significant adverse
national or regional economic impacts;''.
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