Contact: Matt Dempsey (202) 224-9797 Matt_Dempsey@epw.senate.gov  

Interior Makes Right Call on Polar Bear: ESA not a Climate Law 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following statement today in response to the decision by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to retain a special rule issued in December for protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.  

“I applaud the Secretary of Interior for making the right call and applying a common-sense approach to the Endangered Species Act,” Senator Inhofe said. “Secretary Salazar is absolutely correct: ‘The Endangered Species Act is not the proper mechanism for controlling our nation’s carbon emissions.’ The same is also true of the Clean Air Act or any other federal law.” 

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