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A top U.S. Fish and Wildlife official faced tough questions from senators about the Trump administration's recent efforts to strip migratory birds of federal protections. The changes would stop the agency from fining oil and gas companies when development and pollution kill migratory birds. Instead of imposing fines, the USFWS will simply inform the oil and gas industry of best practices to minimize bird deaths. "This proposal, which has been met with strong bipartisan opposition, breaks with every precedent of the law and caters solely to industry," said Senator Tom Carper.
When BP Deepwater Horizon poured crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, killing thousands of birds, the company was fined $100 million. But under the Trump proposal, if the disaster occurred again, BP wouldn't pay a penny.
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This is the same authority most other committees give their chairs at the beginning of each Congress as a matter of course. We’re just bringing ourselves up to par with where many of our colleagues are already."
