Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, my amendment would strike section 431. Section 431 does two things. First, it withdraws the Clean Water Rule. Second, and more importantly, it breaks procedure and creates a loophole so that the removal of the Clean Water Rule does not have to abide by the Administrative Procedure Act. In essence, we are creating a loophole to eliminate a rule, a rule requested by the Supreme Court and one that took several years to put together. This elimination without allowing tweaks, thoughtful removal, or comment is a radical and dangerous precedent. In fact, 80 Members of Congress and I actually asked for an extension of the 30-day comment period to eliminate the Clean Water Rule to allow the American people to have a say. The Trump administration agreed with us and extended the comment period an additional 30 days. I don't get to say that too often. So clearly, there is a desire for a comment period, as evidenced by our letter and the administration's decision to appropriately extend the comment period, but the language in this bill would eliminate that process completely. I include in the Record the request for extension. Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, June 29, 2017. Re Request for Extension of Comment Period on EPA and Corps Proposed Rule Defining Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act. Administrator Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, DC. Attention: Docket ID No.…”