$14 Billion Wildlife Conservation Plan Advanced by House Panel

January 19, 2022

The House Natural Resources Committee approved a wildlife conservation bill Wednesday that would establish $14 billion in funds for conservation projects for species recovery and wildlife habitat.

The “Recovering America’s Wildlife Act,” approved by a bipartisan vote of 29-15, would provide dedicated, annual funding of $1.4 billion over the next decade for states, tribes, and territories to work on wildlife conservation projects. Republicans Rob Wittman (Va.), Don Young (Alaska), Jenniffer González-Colón (P.R.), and Daniel Webster (Fla.) voted for the measure (H.R. 2773), along with Democrats.

It’s “one of the most important, impactful bills we will see in this committee” this year, said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), one of 151 cosponsors across both parties. The money, which would be disbursed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, would rely on revenue generated from penalties collected for environmental violations, rather than through the annual congressional appropriations process. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) are the lead sponsors.

While several Republicans expressed support for the intent of the legislation and praised Dingell for her bipartisan efforts, most of them opposed the measure because of the funding mechanism. The legislation would create permanent, mandatory funding for the program and doesn’t currently contain any pay-fors.

“This is good policy; this is needed policy,” said the panel’s top Republican, Bruce Westerman (Ark.), who opposed the bill, known as RAWA, in committee. “However, there are three adjectives that give me RAWA heartburn: mandatory, permanent, and non-offset.”

Dingell committed during the markup to work with Republicans on finding funding offsets before the House considers the legislation on the floor. “I promise to continue the talks on funding.”

Lawmakers adopted several Republican amendments to the measure during Wednesday’s markup.

The Republican amendments incorporated into the bill would:

  • Stipulate that no more than 3% of matching funds be used for administrative costs.
  • Direct a portion of funds to the Department of the Interior’s inspector general for oversight to ensure the money in the bill is spent properly.
  • Make technical changes to ensure wildlife responsibilities specific to Alaska are maintained. Dingell offered the amendment on behalf of Young.


The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on a companion bill (S. 2372) in early December.

Wildlife Bill to Boost State Funds Draws Democratic Concerns

To contact the reporter on this story: Kellie Lunney in Washington at klunney@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Zachary Sherwood at zsherwood@bgov.com


By:  Kellie Lunneye
Source: BGOV