Wichita Standard

Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) voted in favor of the 2025 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act on July 24, 2024. The act includes provisions to prohibit funding for listing the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act and to defund the Environmental Protection Agency's rule on meat and poultry producers' wastewater discharges.

"Kansas farmers, ranchers, energy producers, and meat and poultry producers are responsible stewards of our state's vast natural resources and don't need D.C. bureaucrats standing in the way," said Rep. Estes. "We've seen federal agencies attempt to usurp Kansans' rights by listing the lesser prairie-chicken as endangered despite its stable population and adding an unnecessary burdensome regulation on small, local meat producers. Passing these measures puts us one step closer to restoring control to Kansans."

Earlier this year, Rep. Estes introduced the Banning EPA’s Encroachment on Facilities (BEEF) Act with Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Missouri). The legislation aims to protect small family-owned meat and poultry processors from new EPA regulations by prohibiting the agency from finalizing or enforcing their proposed "Clean Water Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Meat and Poultry Products Point Source Category" rule. He also authored an op-ed in the High Plains Journal addressing concerns about this rule.

Additionally, Rep. Estes had previously introduced the Promoting Local Management of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Act in response to efforts by federal agencies to list the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act. He supported a Congressional Review Act resolution in 2023 and wrote an article for the Congressional Western Caucus in May 2023.