Political Quotes

“The irony of what my colleague on the other side is saying is that the only time that the courts would be addressing guidance is when the agencies are attempting to enforce it against someone outside of the agency. Again, an example might be the EPA attempting to enforce their guidance against an irrigator in Wyoming because he moved an irrigation ditch and they have concluded that such irrigation ditch, through their guidance, is actually a navigable water of the United States. Now, fortunately, recently, the Supreme Court of the United States slapped that down and has indicated that the EPA is no longer going to be able to abuse its power and try to control irrigation land and other resources by claiming that mud puddles and such are navigable waters of the United States, but that is just an example. The only time that the courts are going to be looking at guidance is if the agencies are attempting to enforce it. Further, while my colleague on the other side would argue that these are just frequently answered questions and internal documents, the fact is that this is the way that agencies are circumventing the APA, circumventing the law, and attempting to enforce unofficial documents against the citizens of the United States of America. I would also point out that yesterday we did pass a similar amendment to the REINS Act and what this does is it makes SOPRA and REINS consistent in terms of covering guidance documents as well as official rules.…”