Congress extends whale protection rules by seven years
H.R. 8509 — To amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to extend the time period for which certain regulations concerning the North Atlantic right whale are effective. · Filed by Jared Golden (D-ME) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 27, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill extends regulations protecting North Atlantic right whales from 2028 to 2035. It amends a 2023 appropriations law by changing the expiration date of certain whale-protection rules, giving them seven additional years of legal force.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to extend the effective period of existing marine-mammal conservation regulations. It is a straightforward procedural amendment with no hidden mechanisms or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- The bill does not specify which regulations within Section 101 are extended — that depends on the content of the cited 2023 provision. If Section 101 contains multiple regulatory regimes, all expiration dates of 2028 are shifted to 2035.
- Extension does not modify the substance of the regulations themselves, only their legal force period. Any regulatory review, amendment, or reauthorization would require separate legislation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species; extending protective regulations maintains conservation measures that prevent harm to a critically threatened marine mammal. Citizens benefit from sustained environmental protection and species preservation.
Named in the bill
North Atlantic right whale, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Division JJ, Section 101
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Apr 27, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 27, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $676,600 in lobbying spend. A filing names 68 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 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Jared Golden, the sponsor, reported $304,979 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Earthjustice Action — $376,600 on 2 filings
- Defenders of Wildlife — $270,000 on 1 filing
- International Fund for Animal Welfare — $30,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 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 (230 characters) on Jul 2, 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 Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. 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 Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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