On the recordJuly 9, 2014
I wish to speak for a few minutes about the EPA rules on water. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is in Missouri today to discuss the EPA's proposed rule which would significantly expand the authority of the United States under the Clean Water Act. In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Administrator McCarthy called some of the questions about the rule ``silly'' and ``ludicrous'' and said that her trip to Missouri was part of a broader campaign to reassure the agricultural community and set the record straight. I hope she is spending at least as much time in my State listening as she is talking. If she does that she will find out that some of these concerns are very real but they have lots of impact and not just for the farm community across the country but for lots of people who are affected in lots of different ways by what happens if you expand the authority of the Federal Government as this rule would to deal with water almost everywhere and almost all water. Not only did she say that these questions were silly and ludicrous, but the Missouri farm bureau expressed the concern that ``virtually every acre of private property potentially falls under the Clean Water Act jurisdiction. . . .…
