Nick Rahall: “This is about the process, as I described in my opening comments, not the policy. This bill is not about whether the…”

“This is about the process, as I described in my opening comments, not the policy. This bill is not about whether the Members of this body support clean, safe water. We all support clean, safe water. I do not know a single Member in this House that wants to turn back the clock on the gains that this Nation has made in the last 40 years to clean up our rivers and streams. This bill is about process and precedent. It is about whether we should be allowing one Federal agency to run roughshod over the law, over the States, and over other Federal agencies to set policy according to political ideology. Now, I do not think we should be allowing any agency of our Federal Government to be run in that manner. If this Congress allows the EPA to push the envelope in circumventing the law, in circumventing public comment and public participation, it lays the legal groundwork for the next administration to do the exact same thing--maybe under the guise of cleaner air and cleaner water, maybe under the guise of lowering those standards. But the precedent that would be set could be devastating. By not taking action, the Congress is tacitly giving the EPA the authority to do what it deems politically necessary, and that is something that this and every Congress has the responsibility to resist. So this bill, Mr. Chairman, is not about whether any Member in this institution supports the ends that the EPA is trying to reach.…”