# H.J.Res. 78 (119th): This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the U.S

This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt and published on July 30, 2024. The rule lists the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct population segment of longfin smelt, a fish species of the Pacific Coast, as an endangered species. Thus, the joint resolution removes protection for the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: congressional_review_act. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: endangered_species. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: environmental_protection. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: environmental_stewardship. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulatory_disapproval. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: species_endangerment. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 113: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The measure removes a species-protection listing, which is a real stewardship good being set aside, but the underlying dispute concerns regulatory scope, economic tradeoffs, and the appropriate use of the Endangered Species Act. That combination of a real concern with an ordinary prudential dispute fits mixed rather than evil, and the bill does not directly advance a named moral harm.
Theological note: The issue touches stewardship of creation, since Scripture grounds human dominion in care rather than exploitation, and the protection of a vulnerable species bears on that duty. It also involves human livelihoods, water use, and the proper role of federal agencies, which call for prudential judgment about how best to fulfill stewardship. This is an issue-relevance note, not a final candidate judgment.

## Recorded votes

Roll 113: On Passage. Yea 216 · Nay 195 · Other 22.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hjres-78-119/