On the recordApril 29, 2015
I thank the gentleman from Virginia. It seems like old times. You just changed your appearance. Mr. Moran and I, your colleague before you, he and I had this discussion many, many times on the Clean Water Act and waters of the United States and fill material and so forth, and it seems like you just look different than he used to. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. The language in the bill is intended simply to maintain the status quo regarding what is ``fill material'' for the purposes of the Clean Water Act. The existing definition was put in place through a rulemaking initiated by the Clinton administration and finalized by the Bush administration. The rule aligned the definitions on the books of the Corps and the EPA, so that both agencies were working with the same definition. Changing the definition again, as some have proposed, could effectively kill mining operations across much of this country. For that reason, I support the underlying language in the bill. That is why we put it in the bill, and I oppose this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
