The Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015, introduced by my friend and colleague, Chairman Bill Shuster.

Enacted in 1972, the Clean Water Act established a Federal-State partnership to protect our Nation's navigable waterways. The administration has maintained that the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule would have no impact on waters historically not under the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction and is needed simply to provide legal clarity.

While I agree that the boundaries of the Clean Water Act need to be better defined in statute, this proposal provides no such clarity or certainty, creating far more problems than it can solve. Conversely, rather than clarifying the law, the rule would actually create more confusion about where the law stops.

Back in March, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, which I chair, held its second hearing to review the proposed rule and its impact on rural America. The various witnesses spoke loud and clear that the rule would have far-reaching and unprecedented impacts on permitting costs and regulatory uncertainty for land use activities, such as agriculture and forestry.

With the significant challenges already before farmers, ranchers, foresters, and landowners, there is too much on the line to continue down the path of nonsensical overregulation. The Corps of Engineers and the EPA must withdraw this rule, and go back to the drawing board.

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