Relating to A National Emergency Declared By the President on March 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I rise today to fight a blatant land grab by the Federal Government.

My colleagues and I support the Senator from West Virginia's resolution disapproving of the waters of the United States rule. This rule would change the definition of ``navigable waters'' to include things like roadside ditches, puddles on construction sites, farm ponds.

Think about that. President Biden's EPA and Army Corps of Engineers apparently believe that drainage ditches, construction site puddles, and farm ponds are navigable waters. To say this statement defies all common sense is an understatement. Quite frankly, it is embarrassing.

I am from Nebraska. I get it. I am from a land-locked State. But, to me, ``navigable'' means you can put a boat on a body of water and go somewhere. But you don't have to take my word for it. We have the Merriam-Webster definition of ``navigable'' right here, and it says: ``deep enough and wide enough to afford passage to ships.''

If you put a boat on a roadside ditch, you are not going anywhere. If you put a boat on a puddle on a construction site, you are not going anywhere. If you put a boat on a pond, you are just going around the pond. You are not going anywhere besides that.

To Nebraska farmers and ranchers, this is just dumb. Beyond that, the Biden administration is trying to change the law without coming to Congress. The 1972 Clean Water Act said ``navigable waters'' 50 times. Congress's intent could not have been more clear.

As a legislative branch, we must protect our authority. The Biden administration is trying to subvert our laws, and it must be stopped. If allowed to stand, this rule would increase costs and uncertainty for producers, property owners, and small businesses.

President Biden and liberal bureaucrats have absolutely no business regulating this, and I think the President knows it. You know why I think the President knows it? Well, because President Biden's EPA and Army Corps of Engineers quietly finalized this rule on the last working day of the year, just before New Year's Eve. It seems like the President and his cronies hoped that no one would notice.

Well, guess what. We noticed. Nebraska's farmers and ranchers noticed. My Senate colleagues and I noticed, and we are pushing back hard. And, today, my colleagues and I are defending private property rights from this unconstitutional power grab. Today, we are sending a message to President Biden that our farmers and ranchers need relief, not regulation. Today, we are fulfilling our responsibility to provide oversight and accountability in response to Executive overreach. Today, we are defending the authority of the legislative branch.

When I was Governor, I repeatedly opposed President Obama's efforts to expand the waters of the United States rule. As Senator, I strongly oppose President Biden's attempt to do the same.

I want to again thank Senator Capito for her leadership on this issue. I am proud to have joined a bipartisan effort today to vote to rescind this unconstitutional rule. I hope President Biden will choose to sign this commonsense resolution as he did the DC crime bill. He agreed with a bipartisan group of Senators then, and he should do the same now.

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