WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s 15-5 bipartisan vote to advance the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act brings the most significant wildlife conservation legislation in half a century — one step closer to becoming law. The vote affirms that the bill, which will prevent extinctions by investing $1.4 billion in proactive, collaborative conservation efforts, is the right approach to addressing the wildlife crisis.

“The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is the most significant wildlife-conservation bill in half a century — and today’s strong bipartisan vote brings it one tremendous step closer to becoming law,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “With more than one-third of all wildlife species in the United States at heightened risk of extinction, we are incredibly grateful for all of the Republicans, Democrats and independents working together to advance this historic legislation that matches the magnitude of America’s wildlife crisis. Thank you to Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Capito, the members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and original co-sponsors Senator Heinrich and Senator Blunt for advancing this legislation to the floor.”

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would:

• Invest $1.4 billion in dedicated annual funding for proactive, collaborative efforts by the states, Tribes, and territories to recover at-risk wildlife species 
• Focus efforts on the 12,000 species of wildlife and plants, identified by state, Tribal , and territorial wildlife managers, in need of conservation assistance in their federally-approved State Wildlife Action Plans
• Devote $97.5 million each year to Tribal nations’ proactive wildlife conservation efforts on tens of millions of acres of land
• Provide a one-time investment in funding that will focus specifically on addressing the backlog of endangered species recovery work
• Spend at least 15 percent of the resources on recovering threatened and endangered species