[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [House] [Pages H1782-H1788] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. LARSEN : I include in the Record the following letter from 111 organizations opposed to overriding the veto of this Congressional Review Act resolution. April 17, 2023. Re: Vote NO on the veto override of H.J. Res. 27, the Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval of the Revised Definition of the ``Waters of the United States''.  Dear Representative: On behalf of our members and supporters, the undersigned organizations urge you to oppose the attempt to override President Biden's veto of H.J. Res. 27, the Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval targeting the Revised Definition of the ``Waters of the United States'' rule (Clean Water Restoration Rule). This dangerous legislation would invalidate the Biden administration's recently finalized regulation, which ensures protections for many of the waters that our families and communities value and depend on. This Clean Water Restoration Rule ensures that critical waters--from small streams to rivers to wetlands--are protected from unregulated pollution and destruction when they have important downstream effects on water quality. The rule is a return to a familiar approach that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have used to identify waters that qualify as ``waters of the United States'' since President George W. Bush's administration. It also resoundingly rejects the Trump-era approach, which unlawfully and unscientifically rolled back the Clean Water Act's long standing protections and reinstates basic safeguards to ensure big polluters can be stopped from recklessly and indiscriminately bulldozing our wetlands and dumping waste into our streams. The Clean Water Restoration Rule is grounded in science, which demonstrates that the condition of waters often depends on water bodies upstream, and those upstream waters must be protected to safeguard the health of downstream communities and the environment. The rule will more effectively fulfill the purpose of the Clean Water Act: ``to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters.'' By using the Congressional Review Act to attack the Clean Water Restoration Rule, H.J. Res. 27 is employing an incredibly blunt tool in a dangerous attempt to undermine the Clean Water Act itself. When a rule is undone using the CRA process, future administrations are prevented from issuing rules that are ``substantially the same,'' which could undermine future agency action to the benefit of polluters. Despite rhetoric that this bill is being promoted to provide certainty for businesses and other stakeholders, it would actually do the opposite. For instance, should H.J. Res. 27 become law, both protections and exemptions codified in the Clean Water Restoration Rule, including ones for the agriculture industry, could be called into question in future efforts designed to define ``waters of the United States.'' The only stakeholders who benefit from this attack on our clean water protections are big polluters who dump waste into our waterways and burden our families and communities with the health and environmental costs. Again, we ask you to oppose the veto override of H.J. Res. 27, the CRA joint resolution disapproving of the Biden-Harris administration's Revised Definition of the ``Waters of the United States.'' This harmful bill is simply a polluter- driven effort to undermine the Clean Water Act and the critical safeguards that it provides for our waters. Congress should be doing more, not less, to protect our waterways and to ensure that everyone, no matter their race, zip code, or income, has access to clean, safe water. Sincerely, 350.org; A Community Voice; Alabama Rivers Alliance; Alaska Community Action on Toxics; Alliance for the Great Lakes; Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments; American Geophysical Union; American Public Health Association; American Rivers; American Sustainable Business Network; Amigos Bravos; Anthropocene Alliance; Appalachian Trail Conservancy; Asociacion de Residentes de La Margaita, Inc; Atchafalaya Basinkeeper; Black Millennials 4 Flint; Cahaba River Society; California Environmental Voters; Center for a Sustainable Coast; Center for Biological Diversity. Center for Environmental Transformation; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Children's Environmental Health Network; Clean Water Action; Clean, Healthy, Educated, Safe & Sustainable Community, Inc.; Coalition for Wetlands and Forests; Committee on the Middle Fork Vermilion River; Community In- Power and Development Association Inc. (CIDA Inc.); Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety; Concerned Citizens of Cook County (Georgia); Conservation Alabama; Earthjustice; Endangered Habitats League;     Environment America; Environment Maine; Environment Michigan; Environment Minnesota; Environment Montana; Environment Nevada. Environment New Hampshire; Environment New York; Environment Ohio; Environment Rhode Island; Environment Texas; Environmental Law & Policy Center; Environmental Working Group; Food & Water Watch; For Love of Water (FLOW); Freshwater Accountability Project; Freshwater Future; Friends of Buckingham; Friends of the Mississippi River; Gila Resources Information Project; Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance; Greater Neighborhood Alliance of Jersey City, NJ; Green Latinos; Groundswell Charleston SC; Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition; Harpeth Conservancy. Healthy Gulf; Hispanic Federation; Idaho Rivers United; Illinois Council of Trout Unlimited; Kentucky Waterways Alliance; Izaak Walton League of America; Lake Erie Waterkeeper; Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance; Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG); League of Conservation Voters; Lynn Canal Conservation; Maine Conservation Voters; Malach Consulting; Michigan League of Conservation Vote; Milton's Concerned Citizens; Milwaukee Riverkeeper; Mississippi River Collaborative; Missouri Confluence Waterkeeper; Montana Conservation Voters; MS Communities United for Prosperity (MCUP). National Wildlife Federation; Natural Heritage Institute; Natural Resources Defense Council; NC Conservation Network; NC League of Conservation Voters; New Mexico Climate Justice; New Mexico Environmental Law Center; New York League of Conservation Voters; Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition; Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness; Ohio Environmental Council; Ohio River Foundation; Our Children's Earth Foundation; Park Watershed; Patagonia Area Resource Alliance; PES; Rapid Creek Watershed Action; Renewal of Life Trust. River Network; Save the Illinois River, Inc., STIR; Serene Wildlife Sanctuary LLC; Sierra Club; Southern Environmental Law Center; Surfrider Foundation; The Clinch Coalition; The Water Collaborative of Greater Greater New Orleans; Tookany/ Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership; Virginia League of Conservation Voters; Washington Conservation Action; Waterkeepers Chesapeake; Weequahic Park Association; Winyah Rivers Alliance.