Senate Resolution to Withdraw WOTUS

On Wednesday the U.S. Senate failed to pass the bill that would have stopped the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. or WOTUS by only three votes. Yesterday the Senate passed a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act. This resolution would order the EPA and the Corps to withdraw the WOTUS rule and prevent the agencies from future similar rule making. It now must be passed by the House and be signed by the President. Iowa’s Senator Joni Ernest brought the resolution forward and shared the following on the Senate floor
Ernest: “While there is clear indications that this WOTUS rule is illegal and likely to be scraped by the courts. That process could take years to play out all at the expense of the average American. Let’s not wait around for the inevitable and force our farmers and small businesses to operate in the dark while they wait. Let’s fix this now and give American families the certainty they deserve. Mr. President we can do that by passing this legislation before us. I have led the charge here in the Senate on this resolution of disapproval which would scrape the rule entirely. My legislation is the necessary next step in this blatant power grab by the EPA. We will send this to the President where he will be forced to decide between the livelihood of our rural communities and his unchecked federal agency.”