There is a clear sense in my district, and I believe around the country, that the constant expansion of the Federal Government and its bureaucratic red tape is holding back our economy. One the worst offenders of government is the overreach of the EPA. The proposed rule they jointly released with the Army Corps attempts to regulate waters that were never intended to be covered under the Clean Water Act, and would grant them authority over streams on land even when the water beds have been dry, in some cases, for hundreds of years. This is a serious threat to both private property rights and our economy. As the chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, I have worked along with our subcommittee members to try to rein in EPA's regulatory overreach. The fiscal year 2015 bill prohibits the EPA from changing the definition of navigable waters. It is absolutely critical that we uphold the Federal-State partnership and prevent the administration from finalizing a rule that results in the biggest land grab in the history of our country. So we need to support this rule to bring this important legislation to the floor. And I certainly hope that all the Members will support it.
Share & report
More from Ken Calvert
I just want to make a point. The Republicans on the Appropriations Committee want to increase our defense spending. We don't want to cut defense spending. Both the Republicans and the Democrats on the authorizing committee don't want to…
I thank the gentleman for yielding. The bill under consideration is an attempt to protect our elections from foreign interference. That is a goal that I certainly share, and I think all of us share. In fact, I tried to offer an amendment…
I claim time in opposition. The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Van Orden). The gentleman from California is recognized for 5 minutes.
I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the majority leader of the House of Representatives. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Connecticut has…





