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Source: 30dB.com – Trump-and-Endangered%20Species%20Act
The act, along with related legislation, helps protect more than 2,000 animals and plants that are at risk of being wiped out. While that wouldn’t appear to be a particularly controversial stance, Republicans are apparently happy to deregulate to help mining and oil companies that complain about not being able to totally maximize profits. The Interior Dept. recently released proposed changes that would lead to increased scrutiny over the economic impact of protecting animals, and Republican lawmakers are also in the process of pushing out bills that would make it easier to delist endangered species. As a fun history exercise that further proves how much sway special interests have over politicians in 2018, The New Yorker recapped what happened when the Endangered Species Act first passed in 1973: “The House approved the bill by a vote of 390–12. The Senate approved its version 92–0.… President Richard Nixon said, ‘Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.’” Times have certainly changed. Over the past 90 days, “Trump + Endangered Species Act” has just a 17 percent positive score on Social. –Alex Shultz
Republished from 30dB