Obama Should Veto Bill That Could Threaten Waters

Trout Unlimited reported on the House’s controversial bill that may compromise the Clean Water Act.

Here’s TU’s Kate Baker with more:

President Obama has promised to veto the measure (Senate Joint Resolution 22), and as today’s vote demonstrated, the votes to override his veto are clearly not there.

We have been here before. This is the third attempt by the House during this Congress to derail the EPA/Army Corps of Engineers Clean Water Rule.  Enough already!  Americans support this rule, and commented in droves in favor of it during the rulemaking process.  

Congress and President Obama have rejected similar attacks in the recent past. In the2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bill passed into law just before Christmas, Congress wisely decided to reject a rider that would have derailed the rule that will help the federal government do a better job with the foremost of the fundamentals—deciding what is, and what is not, a waterway afforded protection by America’s favorite natural resource law, the Clean Water Act.  

The measure approved by the House today is an extraordinary and radical action to overturn the Rule, which was rightfully created through an open and deliberative agency rulemaking process.  By using the Congressional Review Act, this joint resolution would not only wipe out the final Clean Water Rule, but it would also prohibit any substantially similar rule in the future.  This action would lock in place the current state of jurisdictional confusion and offers no constructive path forward for regulatory clarity or for ensuring protections for our nation’s waters.  America’s hunters and anglers cannot afford to have Congress undermine effective Clean Water Act safeguards, leaving communities and valuable fish and game habitat at risk indefinitely.