On the recordJuly 13, 2011
I want to thank Subcommittee Chairman Gibbs for yielding me time to speak on this bill. I would also like to thank both Chairman Mica and Ranking Member Rahall for working in a bipartisan way to address this very important issue. Mr. Chairman, the first bill that I authored when I came to Congress was the Great Bay Community Protection Act, just a smaller and more focused version of a bill in the House that this bill is addressing today, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011. I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 2018. I think this bill amends the CWA to preserve the authority of each State to make determinations relating to the State's water quality standards and to restrict EPA's ability to second-guess or delay a State's permitting and water quality certification decisions under the CWA in several important respects. This legislation will help seven communities in my State of New Hampshire save $250 million in ensuring that we focus on clean water standards, but allowing the State to do so in a timely manner. I strongly urge passage of this legislation.
