To provide that the final rule of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration titled “Rescinding the Definition of “Harm” Under the Endangered Species Act” shall have no force or effect.
Key claim: HR9901 would strip all force and effect from the USFWS and NOAA final rule rescinding the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act.
Abstract
(HR9901 · 119th Congress) Latest action (2026-07-23): Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Why this matters
The regulatory definition of ‘harm’ — which has long included significant habitat modification — determines how far ESA Section 9’s take prohibition reaches onto private and public lands, driving permitting burdens, project delays, and habitat-conservation obligations. Rescinding it narrows federal protections and shifts costs and risks toward species and habitat; a congressional override would reinstate the broader interpretation. Tracking HR9901 alongside the underlying rule captures both sides of an ongoing legal and political contest over the ESA’s practical scope.