RUSS CARNAHAN: “I want to thank my colleague from Colorado (Mr. Polis) for yielding and for the work he is doing on this rule. I…”

“I want to thank my colleague from Colorado (Mr. Polis) for yielding and for the work he is doing on this rule. I appreciate the consideration of the Rules Committee in making one of the amendments I offered on this bill in order. However, I offered a second amendment that gets right at the heart of the issues addressed by this legislation, and, unfortunately, this amendment was not made in order. I can only assume this is because the majority does not want a floor debate that demonstrates the weaknesses inherent in this legislation. My constituents in the St. Louis region I represent understand how important the Clean Water Act is. Situated at the confluence of our country's two greatest rivers, the Mississippi and the Missouri, St. Louis has a long relationship with the mighty rivers. We have long relied on the rivers to take our products to market and to connect us to the rest of the country, and, of course, we depend on them to provide clean drinking water. At the same time, we have learned to rebuild after devastating floods, and I'm sorry to see that this year may well go down in history as the most devastating year for flooding since the epic year of 1993. I appreciate that the Rules Committee made in order my amendment which will allow us to debate and vote to ensure provisions which help ensure that flooded communities do not have to worry about unclean and unsafe water as they recover. However, Mr.…”