Political Quotes

“First let me start by thanking the gentleman from Washington for joining me as a cosponsor of this amendment. Our amendment is simple. It prohibits the EPA and other agencies from using funds in violation of a longstanding law, formally known as the Anti-Lobbying Act. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office ruled that the EPA violated the law by engaging in grassroots solicitation intended to urge the public to support the waters of the United States rule, a vast expansion of Federal jurisdiction. The GAO found that EPA went to unprecedented lengths using social media and other online tools to manufacture public support for the rule and to sway the opinions of Members of Congress. GAO cited two specific violations by the EPA that occurred during the critical time when the Agency was preparing the final WOTUS rule. The first violation was an effort through an Internet tool called Thunderclap which enabled the EPA to reach 1.8 million people who simultaneously shared a message supporting the WOTUS rule. Not only did EPA write the message itself, but it disseminated the message covertly, failing to identify itself as the author. Secondly, the GAO found that EPA violated the law by hyperlinking its own Web site to an outside advocacy group's grassroots campaign effort. The site asked members of the public to take action by contacting their Members of Congress using a form letter written in support of the WOTUS rule.…”