Hillary Scholten: “Mr. Chairman, again, you will hear no argument from me about the need for permitting reform. We do need reform, but this…”

“Mr. Chairman, again, you will hear no argument from me about the need for permitting reform. We do need reform, but this bill is not what we need. It doesn't just cut red tape. It cuts all of the tape that has protected our clean water for 50 years since the Clean Water Act was signed into law. The reason we don't have horror stories of rivers catching on fire and the Great Lakes being declared dead is because of the protection that the Clean Water Act has provided. Despite dramatic population growth, the number of waters meeting water quality standards has doubled since the CWA's passage in 1972. Mr. Chairman, I will be the first to admit that we need reform of our permitting process, but this dirty water bill is not it.”