Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted for the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), H.R. 2773, to help promote and enhance conservation efforts and ensure the long-term health of fish and wildlife throughout the country.  The bill passed the House on a bipartisan basis, by a vote of 231-190.

“Along the Texas Gulf Coast, we know the importance of protecting our ecosystems and enhancing wildlife habitat,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “Healthy and diverse wildlife populations provide many environmental benefits, including shoreline protection, and I was glad to vote for this legislation to provide states with federal funding to manage wildlife species of greatest conservation need.”

RAWA would:

• Fund conservation efforts for more than 12,000 species of wildlife and plants in need of assistance by providing $1.3 billion in dedicated annual funding for proactive, on-the-ground efforts in every state;
• Accelerate the recovery of 1,600 U.S. species already listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act; and
• Include improvements to ensure funds are appropriately targeted to the areas of greatest need and facilitate additional investments in protecting at-risk plant species.