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Federal agencies continue to roll out costly regulations that jeopardize the economic security and livelihood of Nebraska families. For example, regulations from Washington are directly responsible for 25 percent of the costs associated with building a new home. This shocking statistic was revealed at a field hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee I chaired in Lincoln earlier this year.
The field hearing focused on the administration’s “waters of the United States” rule, commonly referred to as WOTUS. Under this rule, the federal government would expand its jurisdiction to control nearly all water in Nebraska and across the country. With so much red tape from the federal government already in place, new WOTUS regulations would put the American dream of owning a home even further out of reach for many hardworking Americans.
That is why I am so concerned about the WOTUS rule and its harmful effect on all Nebraskans. Families, taxpayers, job creators, and agricultural producers will shoulder the cost of this new federal overreach. Enough is enough. It’s time to protect Nebraskans from these burdensome regulations. In the U.S. Senate, we did just that.
We began by voting on legislation that I cosponsored to scrap this rule altogether and force the administration to start over. The bipartisan bill, known as the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, would require both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to go back to the drawing board and re-examine this rule. It would also require both federal agencies to work with stakeholders and local governments before proposing a new rule to regulate state-owned water.
Unfortunately, this bill did not receive the 60 votes required to move forward in the Senate. But we did not stop there.
The following day, the Senate moved on a joint resolution to block the WOTUS rule from being implemented. I was proud to cosponsor this critical legislation with Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa.
The joint resolution was packaged in the form of a Congressional Review Act, and it therefore only required 51 votes to pass the Senate. I was pleased to see it succeed. Congressman Adrian Smith has introduced an identical resolution in the House of Representatives.
Nebraskans take pride in protecting our water resources. The 23 local natural resource districts across our state are best equipped to work with local communities every day to protect and manage our water. This crucial partnership must be allowed to continue.
The U.S. Senate is not alone in the fight against WOTUS. In fact, opposition to this far-reaching rule has been overwhelming. On August 27, 2015, hours before WOTUS was supposed to go live, a temporary injunction was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Erickson of North Dakota. This ruling temporarily prevented the rule from going into effect. Nebraska was one of the 13 states that received this injunction. Additionally, a ruling last month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit immediately blocked the implementation of WOTUS nationwide. These rulings highlight the shaky legal ground that this rule rests on.
We have also seen a strong Common Sense Nebraska coalition come together to demonstrate the negative effects that WOTUS will have all Nebraskans. I appreciate the coalition’s efforts in driving this cause.
Moving forward, I will continue to fight harmful federal regulations that make the lives of Nebraskans more complicated and costly. Government should not make it more difficult for you to own a home, start a business, or pursue your dreams.
By working together, we can protect our water for current and future generations. Nebraskans are good stewards of our natural resources. Bureaucrats in Washington must not interfere.
Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
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