Pfluger fights the use of the sagebrush lizard as a weapon against the oil and gas industry

The Biden administration's latest listing of the sagebrush lizard as an endangered species threatens energy production in the Permian Basin, and U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) is working to overturn the decision.

“Listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species is another effort by the Biden administration to stop drilling in the Permian Basin,” said Rep. Pfluger.

Located in west Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the Permian Basin has the most productive oil and gas deposits in the United States. Part of the area is also habitat for the dunes sagebrush lizard, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

On May 31, Representative Pfluger sponsored a resolution to reverse this action.

“My Congressional Review Act reverses President Biden's attempt to weaponize a lizard against the oil and gas industry,” said Rep. Pfluger, who sponsored House Joint Resolution (HJRes.) 162. “I will not allow the president to take control. of private property and killing energy jobs in the Permian Basin.

Specifically, HJRes. 162 states that Congress disapproves the Fish and Wildlife Service's May 20 rule, entitled “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for the Dune Sagebrush Lizard,” and that the rule will have no force or effect, according to the text of the resolution.

HJ Res. 162 gained support from the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Energy Workforce and Technology Council.