PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
American Sovereignty and Species Protection Act of 2025
This bill limits the protection of endangered or threatened species to species that are native to the United States. In addition, the bill prohibits certain funding for endangered or threatened species from being used to acquire lands, waters, or other interests in foreign countries.
People & committees
Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] · R–AZ
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jan 14, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would prevent the Secretary from designating species that are not native to the United States as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act's listing provisions. It would also prohibit certain financial assistance under that law from funding acquisition of land, waters, or other interests in foreign countries, including through leases. These are proposed changes in the supplied introduced version.
The Secretary may not determine that a species is an endangered species or a threatened species pursuant to this section if such species is not native to the United States.
No financial assistance provided under paragraph (1) may be used to acquire, by lease or otherwise, lands, waters, or other interests in a foreign country.
Section 1 would name the legislation the American Sovereignty and Species Protection Act of 2025.
This Act may be cited as the American Sovereignty and Species Protection Act of 2025.
Section 2(a) would add a prohibition to the Endangered Species Act's listing provisions: the Secretary could not determine that a species is endangered or threatened under that section if it is not native to the United States.
Section 4(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (4) Nonnative species The Secretary may not determine that a species is an endangered species or a threatened species pursuant to this section if such species is not native to the United States.
Section 2(b) would remove language expressly including acquisition of land, waters, or interests in them from the existing financial-assistance provision. It would then prohibit assistance under the newly numbered paragraph (1) from funding such acquisitions in foreign countries. The restriction would cover leases and other acquisition methods, despite the heading referring to purchasing land.
Section 8(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1537(a)) is amended— (1) by striking As a demonstration of and inserting the following: (1) In general As a demonstration of ; (2) by striking (which includes, but is not limited to, the acquisition, by lease or otherwise, of lands, waters, or interests therein);
(2) Prohibition on purchasing land in a foreign country No financial assistance provided under paragraph (1) may be used to acquire, by lease or otherwise, lands, waters, or other interests in a foreign country.
The supplied action snapshot, updated January 14, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Natural Resources on January 3, 2025. It does not establish what happened afterward.
Source snapshot updated 2026-01-14T16:37:07Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials. Member requests, disclosures, committee reports, and conference materials were not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, preferential treatment, or exception warranting a targeted-benefit finding was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jan 14, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI