Bush Administration Rushing to Ease Endangered Species Laws

In the final months of Bush’s rule as President of the United States, his administration is feverishly working to push through government-approved building projects that can only be carried out if endangered species laws are eased.  In fact, Interior Department officials are so eager to loosen the laws that protect these animals, they’re poring over 200,000 public comments in just 32 hours.

From Yahoo News:

The Fish and Wildlife Service has called a team of 15 people to Washington this week to pore through letters and online comments about a proposal to exclude greenhouse gases and the advice of federal biologists from decisions about whether dams, power plants and other federal projects could harm species. That would be the biggest change in endangered species rules since 1986.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., whose own letter opposing the changes is among the thousands that will be processed, called the 32-hour deadline a “last-ditch attempt to undermine the long-standing integrity of the Endangered Species program.”

At that rate, according to a committee aide’s calculation, 6,250 comments would have to be reviewed every hour. That means that each member of the team would be reviewing at least seven comments each minute.

It usually takes months to review public comments on a proposed rule, and by law the government must respond before a rule becomes final.

It’s the Republicans taking the side of business over anything and everything else, as usual. Lobbyists are paying big money to push these projects though, and if the Bush administration does manage to make the regulation final before they leave office, it could take months or even years for the next president to undo. Obama has already said he would reverse the proposal, and McCain’s campaign has not commented.

Perhaps this is Bush’s way of saying, “Hey, look at me! I’m still a crappy President!” After all, we’ve practically forgotten that Bush is still in office in our excitement about seeing someone else taking his place. If you thought he was done screwing things up, think again.

Link [Yahoo News]

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