# 119-hr-65: Armed Forces Endangered Species Exemption Act

119-hr-65, Armed Forces Endangered Species Exemption Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ); status introduced (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-65
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-65
- Congress: 119
- Title: Armed Forces Endangered Species Exemption Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-03
- Sponsor: Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**This bill would create broad exemptions that _exempt defense activities from key Endangered Species Act protections_.** It would stop the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service from naming military installations or DOD-designated areas as critical habitat and would exempt certain defense-related actions from the ESA's prohibitions on harming listed species. - Military and the Department of Defense: Lets the Secretary of Defense declare a base or other area necessary for training, testing, or other military uses and block it from being designated as critical habitat. DOD would not be required to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service under the ESA about those areas. - Military personnel, employees, and contractors: Removes ESA limits on taking, importing or exporting, and damaging listed species when those people are engaged in "national defense-related operations." Those operations include research, testing, training, and other actions the Secretary of Defense deems necessary. - Species protections and agencies: Treats injury or death of threatened or endangered species that result from, but are not the purpose of, defense operations as excluded from the ESA's take prohibitions.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9] (R-AZ), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Endangered species exemptions for defense operations: mixed, medium. The bill would exempt military personnel from key Endangered Species Act bans during national defense operations. This would allow taking, harming, or importing/exporting listed species when it happens in research, testing, training, general preparedness, or other duties the Defense Secretary says…
- Limit endangered-species rules on military land: mixed, medium. If enacted, Interior would not be able to label military bases or state-owned National Guard sites as critical habitat. It would also block critical habitat on other areas the Defense Secretary designates for DoD use after a written finding that the area is needed for training, weapons testing, or…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6225: PAUSE Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1897: ESA Amendments Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act
- 119-hr-7816: Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act of 2026
- 119-hr-2395: SHORT Act
- 119-hr-2528: Association Health Plans Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-65 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/65)

## Related
- [119-hr-6225: PAUSE Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6225)
- [119-hr-1897: ESA Amendments Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1897)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [119-hr-7816: Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7816)
- [119-hr-2395: SHORT Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2395)
- [119-hr-2528: Association Health Plans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2528)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-65 (as of 2025-12-21).