Congress kills endangered-species protection for Bay-Delta fish
H.J.Res. 78 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service relating to "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt". · Filed by Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 21, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This resolution uses the Congressional Review Act to block a Fish and Wildlife Service rule that listed the San Francisco Bay-Delta longfin smelt as an endangered species. If enacted, the rule disappears and the fish loses federal protection, allowing water projects and development to proceed without endangered-species constraints in that region.
Why we flagged it
The bill uses the Congressional Review Act—a fast-track procedural tool—to nullify an endangered-species listing. This is a straightforward deregulatory move, not a hidden rider; the mechanism is transparent but the effect is to remove environmental protection.
What the text implies
- Disapproving the rule does not merely delay the listing—it voids it entirely and, under CRA rules, prevents the agency from issuing a substantially similar rule without new congressional authorization, effectively locking in the deregulation.
- Water agencies and agricultural interests in California's Central Valley gain operational freedom from ESA consultation requirements, potentially enabling increased water extraction during drought periods without species-impact analysis.
- The longfin smelt population in the Bay-Delta has declined sharply; loss of federal protection removes a legal tool for habitat restoration and may accelerate further decline, with cascading effects on the broader estuarine ecosystem.
- This resolution targets a specific regional species and population, suggesting it may reflect pressure from California water-user coalitions rather than a broad policy shift on endangered-species law.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens lose a public environmental protection and the ecological services (water quality, fishery stability) that endangered-species protections provide. The primary beneficiaries are agricultural water users and development interests in California's Central Valley and Bay-Delta region who face fewer regulatory constraints on water extraction and habitat alteration.
Who stands to gain
- California agricultural water districts
- Central Valley irrigation authorities
- Real estate and development interests in the Bay-Delta region
- Water utilities serving agricultural and industrial users
Named in the bill
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay-Delta, Longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. Chapter 8), Endangered Species Act, 89 Fed. Reg. 61029
Where it stands
8 cosponsors: 7 Republicans, 1 Independents.
- Mar 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- May 1, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 216 - 195 (Roll no. 113). (text: CR H1781)”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. Those filings disclosed $100,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 59 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Doug LaMalfa, the sponsor, reported $279,010 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Defenders of Wildlife — $100,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jan 14, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,362 characters) on Jul 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jan 14, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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