Putting Endangered Species on the Internet (H.R. 4315)

What is H.R. 4315?

(Updated July 13, 2017)

 This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to require  federal agencies (like the Department of the Interior) to publicize decisions made about the ESA to the public.

This would include some financial records, research, and electronically publishing things like:

• Which species are endangered; 
• Where critical habitats are located;
• The data that proves a species is in decline. 

Argument in favor

The public deserves to know why and where certain animals are considered endangered, and what the federal government is doing about it.

Argument opposed

Publicizing information about endangered wildlife makes them vulnerable to poachers, and creates bureaucratic hurdles that delay their protection.

Impact

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state, tribal, and county governments, who would be required to post more electronic information about endangered species. Would also impact public awareness of endangered species, and consequently how they are protected.

Cost of H.R. 4315

Based on past costs of inputting documents onto public websites, CBO estimates that this bill would have a negligible effect on the federal budget.

Additional Info

In Depth:

The bill would also require:

• That the “best scientific and commercial data available” used for ESA decision-making be published online. 
• Federal agencies to share some of their spending costs with the public. For example, how much money they spend on ESA-related lawsuits, how many employees were dedicated to ESA litigation, and attorney fees doled out to the successful ESA litigant.
• An imposed $125 per hour cap on government reimbursement of attorneys fees under the ESA.

Media: