Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and 9 Congressional Western Caucus Members urged their House colleagues to vote in support of H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on the Biden Administration’s flawed and burdensome “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, on the House floor.

“This rule is not about clean water,” said Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04). “Rural communities in the West and across the country like Central Washington are dedicated to clean water and they are the ones being punished by the continued legal uncertainty this new final rule promulgates. As Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus—a bipartisan group of nearly 100 Members that advocate for private property rights and clean water—I have consistently called on this administration to provide regulatory certainty for farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and landowners. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this resolution, push back on this administration’s egregious overreach, and fight for our food supply.” Click here to watch his full remarks.

“My colleagues are here to talk about something that’s been over and over again changed with the whim of every administration it seems,” said Executive Vice Chair Doug LaMalfa (CA-01). “I’ve been here ten years and every new Congress there is a different enforcement, the law keeps getting changed, there’s no certainty. So how are we supposed to farm, grow the crops that people depend on in this country?” Click here to watch his full remarks.

“Time and time again, the Biden Administration creates hardship for the constituents I represent,” said Vice Chair Pete Stauber (MN-08). “Unfortunately, I expect no less from this activist administration. It is clear that they do not consider rural American a priority.” Click here to watch his full remarks.

“Let’s be clear. Ambiguity and subjectivity enshrined by an environmental rule are no friends of freedom, the production of foods or other goods, or prosperity,” said Rep. David Rouzer (NC-07). “Despite what supporters of the Biden WOTUS rule say, it will do nothing to bring forth certainty and consistency except for the trial lawyers and radical environmentalists who are most certainly consistent and persistent in their work to use the executive and judicial branches of government to essentially halt the work of and extort from those who produce.” Click here to watch his full remarks.

“America’s farmers, ranchers, and landowners deserve a WOTUS definition that is fair to agriculture and maintains the historical reach of the Clean Water Act,” said Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15). “Neither of which is accomplished by the Biden Administration’s flawed rule.” Click here to watch his full remarks.

“I am a farmer who was prosecuted under the Clean Water Act for growing wheat in a wheat field that had been planted to wheat many times before,” said Rep. John Duarte (CA-13). “This is a direct attack on our farming and our food supply, and please don’t understand it as anything different.” Click here to watch his full remarks.

“The men and women that feed America should not have to apply for permits to simply remove debris from a ditch on their property or change the types of crops that they grow in a field,” said Rep. Rick Crawford (AR-01). “Yet this is what people in my district in Arkansas and around the country will face under the new WOTUS rule.” Click here to watch his full remarks.

“With this vote, Congress has a golden opportunity to stand up not only for the people who feed, fuel, and clothe us all, but also for Americans whose businesses and private lives would be affected by this big government encroachment on their property,” said Rep. Tracey Mann (KS-01). “We can either tell Americans that we believe the federal government knows best, or we can tell that that the federal government should get out of their way and let them do what they do best. I know where I stand.” Click here to watch his full remarks.

This is just one more example of an out of control and unelected Washington bureaucracy intruding into our personal lives and seeking to destroy our property rights,” said Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY-AL). “I urge my colleagues to support today’s disapproval vote and protect Americans from the ridiculous government overreach these waters provisions would enable.” Click here to watch her full remarks.

“Rural Colorado runs on water, and this unconstitutional regulation will harm our way of life,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-03). “We all want clean air, we all want clean water, and we know that we do it right without bureaucrats getting in our way.” Click here to watch her full remarks.

“For years, Hoosier farmers have struggled with back and forth water restrictions that have made their lives and jobs exceedingly more difficult," said Rep. Jim Baird (IN-04). "This administration’s continued overreach with WOTUS has empowered unelected bureaucrats to overregulate any body of water, plunged our farmers into a state of ambiguity and unworkable conditions, and has exceeded the EPA and USACE’s regulatory authority. Our farmers deserve regulatory certainty and I’m deeply disappointed that this administration continues to ignore the needs of rural America.”