Good News: Congressional attacks on policies protecting nature thwarted

On Monday July 23, there were three wins for nature when amendments to undermine key environmental protection programs were not passed by the House Rules Committee. We applaud the Rules Committee for not moving these three amendments forward.

Contacting our members of Congress

Our grassroots campaign office staff called their Members of Congress on Monday to ask them to stand up for nature. 

And our state offices including PennEnvironment, Environment North Carolina, Environment Illinois and Environment Oregon contacted their Congressional delegations to urge them to oppose these amendments. 

Attempt 1: Undermining the Antiquities Act

One amendment was introduced by Iowa Rep. Miller-Meeks to “[prohibit} use of funding for new monument or land reservations under the Antiquities Act without authorization from Congress.”

Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the Antiquities Act was passed when agriculture, mining and urban development was threatening to replace huge areas of America’s open space and their priceless natural spaces and cultural artifacts. The Act gives the president the authority to declare national monuments on federal land containing “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest.” Since 1906, the Antiquities Act has been used nearly 300 times by presidents from both parties to create new monuments or enlarge existing ones from the Grand Canyon in Arizona to Castner Range in Texas. President Biden has designated five national monuments. We opposed this amendment, because it would have essentially blocked Presidents from designating new national monuments by blocking funding for them. 

Attempt 2: Reversing the Great American Outdoors Act

Two other amendments were introduced by Texas Rep. Arrington to undermine the bi-partisan Great American Outdoors Act and the  Land and Water Conservation Fund.  The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was established by Congress in 1964 to protect natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage sites and to expand recreation opportunities for people across America. To compensate for the environmental damage caused by offshore drilling, the program is funded by revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing. In 2020, Congress made LWCF funding permanent through the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) – which was supported by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate and was supported and signed into law by President Trump. 

The first amendment aimed to “[prohibit] the ability for funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund to be used to acquire new land and water from a private landowner.” One of the most important roles of the LWCF is to provide funding for local projects. Cities and counties have relatively small budgets and competing priorities often mean that funding for nature on the local level takes a backseat. Guaranteed annual funding from LWCF means that states can fund these local projects year after year into the future. State grants have been used to create new local  parks and wetlands, building bridges and improving beaches and trails.  We opposed this amendment which would have prevented cities, counties and states from using LWCF funds to expand or create local parks and nature areas. 

The second Arrington amendment would have “[made] funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund discretionary, rather than mandatory.” Permanent, dedicated funding of LWCF, as guaranteed by GAOA, is crucial to protect parks and public lands; to connect landscapes for wildlife and fire management; to provide hunting and fishing access; to preserve water quantity and quality; to sustain working landscapes and rural economies; and to increase recreation access for all no matter where they live. Every state and congressional district benefits directly from LWCF and would have been negatively affected by this amendment. 

More threats on the horizon

Unfortunately, there are still attacks on nature moving through the House of Representatives. Amendments to prevent protecting critical wildlife  habitats in Colorado, Oregon and Minnesota will soon be voted on. And the Interior Appropriations bill includes measures to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling and to block the Biden administration from protecting old-growth trees and forests among other threats to our lands, oceans and wildlife. 

Action: Call your Member of Congress

Visit House.gov website and type your zip code in next to the red “Look Up” button. If your zip code overlaps two districts, it will ask for your street address. Otherwise, it will show you your Member of Congress and their DC office number.

When you call the number,  you can use this scription:

Hi, I’m [Name] and my home zip code is ______________. I’m calling about H.R. 8998, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025. I’m calling to ask Representative ________ to vote no on the bill and also to vote no on Amendments 19, 98 and 152 which would undermine our ability to protect our public lands and critical species.