H.R. 3845 — To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to expand the exemption process under section 7 of that Act with respect to national security and significant adverse national or regional economic impacts.

This section expands the exemption process under Section 7(g) and (h) of the Endangered Species Act by allowing a Federal agency, state governor, or permit/license applicant to apply to the Secretary for an exemption from Section 7(a)(2) requirements (i.e., ensuring agency actions do not jeopardize listed endangered/threatened species or adversely modify their critical habitat) if the Secretary's biological opinion indicates either a violation of those requirements or that a necessary modification or reasonable and prudent alternative may impair national security or result in significant adverse national or regional economic impacts. (1) It requires the Secretary, in initial review under Section 7(g)(3), to determine good-faith consultation efforts and, for applications based on security or economic grounds, to assess those impacts; (2) it directs the Secretary's report to the Endangered Species Committee under Section 7(g)(5) to include consultations with the National Security Council (on security) and Director of the National Economic Council (on economic impacts) for such applications; and (3) it modifies the Committee's exemption criteria under Section 7(h)(1)(A)(i) to grant exemptions if no reasonable and prudent alternatives exist or, for security/economic-based applications, if a required modification or alternative would impair national security or cause significant adverse economic impacts. (As background, Section 7 exemptions—historically rare and granted by the "God Committee"—override biological opinion findings to allow agency actions that would otherwise violate species protections.)