The measure aimed at replacing the rule needed 60 votes to advance to a full debate, but just four Democrats supported the cloture motion, leaving the bill three votes short, 57-41. In its veto threat, the White House said that more than 1 in 3 Americans get their drinking water from rivers, lakes, and reservoirs that are at risk of pollution from upstream sources. The close vote was largely along party lines, with only Democratic Sens.
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The new regulations will clarify the definition of the “waters of the U.S.” to include headwaters as waterways that flow into navigable streams, which are protected by the Clean Water Act and redefined by a 2006 Supreme Court case.
“I believe that Hoosiers know best how to protect our waters, and this rule inhibits Indiana’s ability to manage its own affairs”, Gov. Mike Pence said when the federal appeals court panel put the rule on hold last month.
Under the 1972 Clean Water Act, the EPA has authority to regulate “navigable” waters. “We must stop the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to add to the big, wet blanket of burdensome regulations that mean higher costs for Tennessee families, farmers and businesses”. “We will continue to push forward with this and other legislative initiatives and will watch closely to see how the courts handle the EPA rule”.
“There is a reason that 31 states, including West Virginia, are suing to overturn the misguided rule, and two courts have already found it likely illegal”.
Resolution sponsor Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) says the action would “put an end to” the expanded EPA rule.
“The resolution passed by the Senate today is supported by hundreds of national and local organizations including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Homebuilders Association to name a few”.
Earlier this week, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would have forced the Obama administration to rewrite the regulation.
The resolution would prevent the implementation of the water rule, but it’s ultimately unlikely to take effect, given opposition from President Obama and the GOP’s inability to secure a veto-proof majority.
Since the EPA’s new clean water rule was announced, many Republican lawmakers, as well as those in the aggregate and construction industries, decried it as a federal government grab for more power.
“The EPA’s overreach is one of the clearest examples of how Ron Johnson is standing up for farmers and manufacturers in Wisconsin and around the country – and how Senator Feingold has long since sold them down the river.” said Ron Johnson campaign spokesperson Brian Reisinger in an email to the Daily Caller News Foundation. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) that would undo the water rule and send it back the EPA with instructions for a re-write.
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“We need to be good stewards of our environmental resources, but the Waters of the United States regulation is a burden”, Cochran said.
