Representative Jerry McNerney (D-CA) offered an amendment to H.R. 5538, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, which would remove ideological riders that would weaken protections for fish, birds, and other wildlife in California’s Bay-Delta. These provisions would undermine the Endangered Species Act, jeopardizing populations of salmon and other local fisheries, they would threaten the habitat of millions of birds by undermining the water rights of wildlife refuges, and they would put at risk thousands of jobs that rely on a healthy Bay-Delta. The rider would also have ramifications across other western states, including reducing public input and review of water projects, lowering funding for the Bureau of Reclamation, and limiting states’ and the federal government’s ability to manage and protect water resources. These dangerous provisions prioritize the interests of large agribusinesses and use California’s drought as an excuse to weaken federal and state environmental laws. On July 13, the House rejected the McNerney amendment by a vote of 181-248 (House roll call vote 436). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The House passed H.R. 5538 on July 14, but the Senate took no action on this legislation.