Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR346 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. RES. 346
5	5	Expressing the need for protecting and conserving at least 50 percent of
6	6	the land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United States and
7	7	encouraging diplomatic community efforts to achieve this goal worldwide.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	APRIL24, 2025
10	10	Mr. B
11	11	EYERsubmitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
12	12	mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on For-
13	13	eign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
14	14	in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
15	15	diction of the committee concerned
16	16	RESOLUTION
17	17	Expressing the need for protecting and conserving at least
18	18	50 percent of the land, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems
19	19	in the United States and encouraging diplomatic commu-
20	20	nity efforts to achieve this goal worldwide.
21	21	Whereas the Earth is facing a crisis of biodiversity loss and
22	22	species extinction;
23	23	Whereas there has been an average 73-percent decrease in
24	24	population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles,
25	25	and fish between 1970 and 2020;
26	26	Whereas the recent global rate of species extinction is at least
27	27	tens-to-hundreds of times higher than the average rate
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30	30	•HRES 346 IH
31	31	over the past ten million years, and has increased sharply
32	32	since 1900;
33	33	Whereas today more than one million plants and animal spe-
34	34	cies are threatened with extinction, including 41 percent
35	35	of all amphibians and 70 percent of all cycads, and since
36	36	the 16th century, at least 680 vertebrate species have
37	37	gone extinct;
38	38	Whereas climate change increases the risks of species extinc-
39	39	tion and irreversible loss of biodiversity, presenting an ex-
40	40	istential crisis for humans and millions of other species
41	41	around the world;
42	42	Whereas human-driven changes in land and sea use are driv-
43	43	ers of both biodiversity loss and climate change;
44	44	Whereas ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, grasslands,
45	45	and mangroves can sequester large amounts of carbon,
46	46	and protecting these areas and their wildlife populations
47	47	can mitigate climate change by preventing carbon from
48	48	being released into the atmosphere;
49	49	Whereas conserving and restoring natural ecosystems pro-
50	50	vides greater net economic benefits than destroying nat-
51	51	ural spaces and wildlife for profit;
52	52	Whereas industries that foster connection to lands and
53	53	waters, such as the outdoor recreation industry that sup-
54	54	ported five million jobs across the United States and ac-
55	55	counted for $1.2 trillion in gross output in 2023, enable
56	56	individuals to have meaningful careers outside in nature;
57	57	Whereas establishing protected natural areas can contribute
58	58	many benefits to people, including by—
59	59	(1) mitigating effects of climate change and
60	60	buffering the impacts of extreme weather events;
61	61	(2) providing cleaner drinking water;
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64	64	•HRES 346 IH
65	65	(3) reducing air pollution;
66	66	(4) being a source of new medicines;
67	67	(5) reducing local rates of infectious diseases and
68	68	broader risk of zoonotic spillover that can contribute to
69	69	pandemics; and
70	70	(6) supporting pollinators and other beneficial spe-
71	71	cies for food production, globally valued at up to more
72	72	than five hundred billion dollars;
73	73	Whereas access to nature ensures cultural and spiritual en-
74	74	richment, as well as physical and mental health benefits;
75	75	Whereas all life depends on essential ecosystems, and, there-
76	76	fore, damaging or erasing them can have a profound im-
77	77	pact on biodiversity and human health and well-being;
78	78	Whereas inequitable policies have led to a targeted denuding
79	79	of biodiversity in communities of color, low-income com-
80	80	munities, and Tribal communities, creating great harm
81	81	and preventing these communities from having equal ac-
82	82	cess to the benefits of biodiversity;
83	83	Whereas the degradation and destruction of natural habitat
84	84	is the primary cause of biological diversity loss at every
85	85	level;
86	86	Whereas only by the preservation and conservation of sub-
87	87	stantial, more natural, intact habitat than previously en-
88	88	visioned can human-driven extinctions be eliminated;
89	89	Whereas the late American biologist E.O. Wilson estimated
90	90	that protecting half of the Earth’s surface would ensure
91	91	the sustainable persistence of 85 percent of the planet’s
92	92	species, and with it, global biodiversity;
93	93	Whereas the conservation science community has developed
94	94	robust tools to inform the identification of natural habi-
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97	97	•HRES 346 IH
98	98	tats that provide the best opportunity to safeguard spe-
99	99	cies;
100	100	Whereas area-based conservation goals are key to averting
101	101	biodiversity loss and can be achieved through collabo-
102	102	rative efforts, including—
103	103	(1) public-private partnerships, which play a notable
104	104	role in conservation within the United States and around
105	105	the world;
106	106	(2) stewardship of local communities on the ground
107	107	and indigenous peoples, honoring their rights to lands,
108	108	territories, and resources; and
109	109	(3) international cooperation; and
110	110	Whereas former President Biden’s America the Beautiful Ini-
111	111	tiative and its goal of conserving 30 percent of land,
112	112	freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United States by
113	113	2030 was a crucial first step to protecting biodiversity
114	114	and mitigating the effects of climate change: Now, there-
115	115	fore, be it
116	116	Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-1
117	117	resentatives that— 2
118	118	(1) the Earth is facing an imminent crisis from 3
119	119	the extinction of species and the decline of biodiver-4
120	120	sity; and 5
121	121	(2) Congress should work to support protecting 6
122	122	and conserving at least 50 percent of the land, 7
123	123	freshwater, and ocean ecosystems in the United 8
124	124	States and encourage diplomatic community efforts 9
125	125	to achieve this goal worldwide, including early and 10
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128	128	•HRES 346 IH
129	129	often stakeholder consultation to ensure just impacts 1
130	130	and transition. 2
131	131	Æ
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