1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Please support and cosponsor H.R. 8919, the Protect Gulf Life Act. A federal exemption has stripped Endangered Species Act compliance requirements from oil and gas operations across the Gulf of Mexico, putting dozens of threatened and endangered species directly in harm's way. This needs to be reversed now. The most urgent case is the Rice's whale. With only about 50 individuals left, it is the only whale species that lives exclusively in American waters, and this exemption removes the safeguards standing between it and extinction. The Protect Gulf Life Act would overturn this exemption, require oil and gas activities to comply with the ESA again, and block a similar exemption from being reissued for three years. The ESA exists precisely for moments like this. Please cosponsor H.R. 8919 and protect Gulf wildlife before more damage is done.