Washington • In an abrupt reversal, the Pentagon said Thursday it supports a Republican proposal in a defense policy bill that would bar the Fish and Wildlife Service from using the Endangered Species Act to protect two chicken-like birds in the western half of the U.S.
In an email to Congress, a top Pentagon official said the proposal could help avoid any "negative readiness impacts on military facilities" that might result from listing the sage grouse and lesser-prairie chicken as endangered.
The statement by Pete Giambastiani, a legislative affairs aide, directly repudiates comments Wednesday by Pentagon officials calling the GOP proposal unnecessary.