Mike Conaway: “Farmers, ranchers, and foresters take great pride in the stewardship of the land. They are the original…”

“Farmers, ranchers, and foresters take great pride in the stewardship of the land. They are the original conservationists. While it may be popular among some to blame farmers and ranchers for any and every environmental concern that crops up, I know that nobody cares more for the environment than those who work the land every day. When a farm family's livelihood depends on caring for natural resources, there is an undeniable economic incentive to adopt practices to enhance the land's long-term viability. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has pursued an agenda seemingly absent of any recognition of the consequences for rural America and production agriculture. Obama's EPA is creating regulations that are burdensome, overreaching, and negatively affecting jobs and the rural economy. Perhaps the most poignant example is the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers' recent power grab with the waters of the U.S. rule or, as the EPA calls it, the clean water rule. I will be frank, this rule is not about clean water. Everybody wants and deserves clean water. This rule simply embodies EPA's insatiable appetite for power. When EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy testified before the House Committee on Agriculture in February, members of the committee brought forth many concerns with the WOTUS rule.…”