Mea Culpa

On Friday I linked to Congressional testimony by Senator Heller concerning his Common Sense in Species Protection Act of 2015.  In my comments I said the ESA had "expired", and that was less than precise.  A reader had a question about it and I quickly wrote an Update saying a Section of the ESA had expired and I would provide further clarification.

The section authorizing appropriations expired in  FY 1992.  The rest of the Act remains intact, including the enforcement provisions.  Back in 2013 I quoted extensively from a Congressional Research Service report explaining all this, including speculation on what would happen if there were zero appropriations, and summarizing Senate & House rules against appropriating moneys that have not been authorized.

Bottom line:  I'm having to correct myself on an issue where I had previously corrected others.  Shame on me.