HR 102 · 119th CongressIn Committee

American Sovereignty and Species Protection Act of 2025

Latest updateJan 3, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Environmental Protection

Sponsor

Andy Biggs

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

January 3, 2025

Legislative Progress

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Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

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Reviewed & reported

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House or Senate vote

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President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 currently allows the Department of the Interior to list any species as endangered or threatened based on biological and ecological criteria, regardless of whether that species is native to the United States. The law also permits the federal government to provide financial assistance for species conservation efforts globally, including funding for the acquisition of land or water rights in foreign countries. This broad authority has enabled protections for nonnative species found within U.S. borders and supported international conservation projects.

This bill amends the Endangered Species Act to prohibit the Department of the Interior from listing any species as endangered or threatened unless that species is native to the United States. Additionally, the bill prohibits the use of federal financial assistance under the Act's international cooperation provisions to acquire land, water, or other interests in foreign countries. These changes narrow the scope of species eligible for federal protection and restrict how conservation funding can be deployed internationally.

The restrictions take effect upon enactment. The Department of the Interior must apply the nonnative species prohibition to any future listing decisions, potentially affecting pending petitions for nonnative species protection. Existing listings of nonnative species would remain in place unless separately repealed. The prohibition on foreign land acquisition eliminates a funding mechanism previously available for international conservation partnerships, redirecting resources toward domestic conservation efforts or reducing overall spending on species protection abroad.

Key Provisions

1Prohibits the Department of the Interior from listing any species as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act if that species is not native to the United States.
2Eliminates the use of federal financial assistance under the Endangered Species Act to acquire land, water, or other interests in foreign countries.
3Restructures Section 8(a) of the Endangered Species Act by removing language that explicitly authorized land and water acquisition and replacing it with a prohibition on foreign acquisitions.

★ Why this matters

Federal protections for nonnative species would end, potentially allowing invasive or introduced species to lose legal safeguards even if they are established in U.S. ecosystems. International conservation funding mechanisms would be eliminated, reducing U.S. participation in cross-border species protection efforts. The Department of the Interior's discretion in species listing decisions would be constrained by a new categorical exclusion based on origin rather than biological need.

● Who this affects

Conservation organizations and environmental nonprofits that partner with the Department of the Interior on international projects; wildlife managers in states dealing with established nonnative species populations; international conservation partners and foreign governments that have received U.S. funding for habitat protection; the Department of the Interior, which must revise listing procedures and funding allocation practices; species advocates and researchers focused on nonnative species management in the United States.

Bill Text

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<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 102

 To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prevent a species that 
 is not native to the United States from being listed as an endangered 
species or a threatened species, to prohibit certain types of financial 
                  assistance, and for other purposes.

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

Mr. Biggs of Arizona introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Natural Resources

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prevent a species that 
 is not native to the United States from being listed as an endangered 
species or a threatened species, to prohibit certain types of financial 
                  assistance, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Sovereignty and Species 
Protection Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON LISTING OF NONNATIVE SPECIES AND PROVISION OF 
              CERTAIN FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Limitation on Listing of Nonnative Species.--Section 4(a) of 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Nonnative species.--The Secretary may not determine 
        that a species is an endangered species or a threatened species 
        pursuant to this section if such species is not native to the 
        United States.''.
    (b) Limitation on Provision of Certain Financial Assistance.--
Section 8(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1537(a)) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``As a demonstration of'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--As a demonstration of'';
            (2) by striking ``(which includes, but is not limited to, 
        the acquisition, by lease or otherwise, of lands, waters, or 
        interests therein)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Prohibition on purchasing land in a foreign 
        country.--No financial assistance provided under paragraph (1) 
        may be used to acquire, by lease or otherwise, lands, waters, 
        or other interests in a foreign country.''.
                                 <all>

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D-North Carolina · District 12

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American Sovereignty and Species Protection Act of 2025

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American Sovereignty and Species Protection Act of 2025

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