SEEC Lands, Waters, and Nature Task Force Decries Trump Death Knell for America’s Marine Wildlife

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Lands, Waters, and Nature Task Force, led by Co-Chairs Reps. Don Beyer (VA-08), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Doris Matsui (CA-07), released the following statement in response to the Department of the Interior’s “God Squad” meeting to waive Endangered Species Act protections for wildlife affected by oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.  

“Today, President Trump’s Administration hastily convened the so-called ‘God Squad’ to consider sweeping exemptions from endangered species protections for Big Oil in the Gulf of Mexico. After causing a predictable energy crisis with their illegal war abroad, the Trump Administration is now scrambling for solutions and is doubling down on endangered species carveouts for Big Oil. This is a ridiculous sideshow; it will not lower gas prices for the American people, but it will risk the extinction of species, and the Trump Administration knows it.

“If Trump wanted to address the energy crisis, he could do so by stopping his forced dependency on the oil and gas industry. Handing out all-you-can-pollute passes to oil and gas companies not only represents a death knell for the threatened and endangered Gulf wildlife we know and love, but it also means more oil and gas spills that harm the health of our families and cost millions in lost tourism and fishing revenue for coastal economies.”