Congress killed a landmark wildlife conservation bill after last-minute negotiations failed and local conservation groups said they are disappointed.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act struggled with funding-source debates in three previous Congressional sessions and didn’t reach President Joe Biden’s desk in the 2022 session.
The bill dedicated $13 billion over 10 years for wildlife habitat projects targeting “at risk” species. Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation estimated that the bill would have funneled more than $16 million annually to wildlife and habitat management efforts.
Kelly Adams, with ODWC, said they were disappointed RAWA wasn’t included in the final language of the omnibus fiscal year 2023 spending package.
“Oklahoma has more than 300 species of greatest conservation need which are species that are rare, uncommon, or declining species. Their long-term persistence is in doubt or in jeopardy,” Adams said.
She said RAWA would have allowed the department to expand its research and management efforts on a larger scale; benefiting several species of greatest conservation need and keeping them off the Endangered Species List.
During a Dec. 24 Saturday Forum on Facebook, Tahlequah Daily Press readers were asked if they supported a bill as such and why they thought it failed, other than cost.
John Albarano said the country can and will go bankrupt, which would result in citizen-to-citizen violence.
“That’s what everyone fears. I myself have lost way [too] much in my IRA, which has been just fine until recently. I’m not the only one. Until we stop kidding ourselves about who we elect, it’s going to continue,” he said.
According to Brent Been, the act passed the House as well as a “key” Senate committee.
“But, this bill was not taken up by the full Senate. It was probably the cost. I know Senator James Lankford is all bent out of shape over the price tag of the omnibus bill itself,” he said.
Lankford’s communications director did not respond to a request for comment from the senator on RAWA before press time. However, in a Dec. 22 press release, Lankford said he was strongly opposed to the omnibus bill.
“When do Americans get to see in advance how Congress will spend their money? Once again, Washington, DC treats Oklahomans’ tax dollars and the future of our economy like fake Monopoly money,” said Lankford. “My office had only hours to review a 4,155-page, almost $2 trillion bill to fund the government. This is no way to run the greatest nation in the world, especially since the bill includes record-high deficit spending. Americans deserve and expect a functioning government that lives within our means. I will keep pushing to solve this broken budget process and bring more people to the table to get this fixed.”
Adams said ODWC looks forward to meeting with the state’s congressional delegation on the benefits of RAWA once Congress reconvenes.
What you said
The TDP asked readers on its website if they favor efforts to conserve wildlife, both for hunting and environmental purposes, even if it’s rather costly. Seventy percent said they do for both, while 13 percent said they did for environmental purposes but not for hunting. Nine percent said they didn’t for either and seven percent said they did for hunting, not for environmental.
