If Senator Barack Obama wins the election he will overturn any changes by the Bush Administration that weakens the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Furthermore, Senator Barbara Boxer will have a hearing on September 24th regarding the policy changes to the ESA. From TheHill.com:
Boxer’s office is trying to get administration officials to drop the changes administratively. At the very least, aides say, they want to get Congress on the record stating the changes are illegal. If Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) wins the presidency, the changes could then be overturned easily.
“We are holding this hearing because it is essential to conduct oversight and establish a clear record when an agency acts outside the bounds authorized by law,” Boxer said in a statement. “The Bush administration’s backdoor attempt to repeal one of our landmark environmental laws must be reversed.”
But the committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, is gearing up for a fight. Inhofe aides say the changes do not alter “the underlying philosophy of the act,” and that Inhofe is disappointed the changes don’t go further.
