Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) made a motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 3791, the “America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024,” which would reauthorize multiple conservation and wildlife programs through fiscal 2030. These include the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and programs to conserve North American wetlands and fish habitats. The bill also would increase the authority of the National Fish Habitat Board, and create and reauthorize programs mitigating or providing compensation for depredation by federally protected species.
The House agreed to Westerman’s motion on December 3, 2024 by a vote of 366 to 21 (Roll Call 479). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize Congress to establish conservation or wildlife programs. The 10th Amendment reserves any such powers to “the States respectively, or to the people.”
