Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Chair, I rise today to express my strong opposition to H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act. This harmful legislation undermines the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers' ability to regulate and protect our wetlands and streams, and it is an assault on the Clean Water Act.

H.R. 1732 would block the EPA's current Clean Water rulemaking, forcing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to go back to the drawing board and start over with the process, undermining years of work undertaken by agencies, businesses, and numerous other stakeholders. Every American deserves to have access to clean water, and the proposed Clean Water rules, under the Clean Water Act, would safeguard the drinking water of more than 117 million people who currently rely on streams lacking clear protection. The EPA has acted to protect America's waters under the Act before, and it is an outrage that House Republicans are blocking the EPA and Army Corps from doing the same now. Americans and businesses deserve certainty and understanding regarding which waterways are covered by the Clean Water Act, and H.R. 1732 would only lead to more confusion.

The EPA engaged in extensive public outreach and received hundreds of thousands of public comments on the proposed Rule, and the Rule is built upon peer-reviewed science. At the very least, the public deserves to see the final rule before Congress decides to block it. Congress should let the EPA and the Army Corps do their jobs and protect America's small streams and wetlands from pollution. I oppose this legislation.

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