The Republican Party has suffered a setback in their attempts to block President Joe Biden’s environmental agenda. Ninety six Republicans failed to override the veto issued by Biden earlier this month. The new ruling means that the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate more waters, including interstate waterways and upstream sources. Ten Democrats joined the Republicans, but it was not enough to overrule Biden’s veto.
Republicans have been criticizing Biden for his strict environmental policies, which he promised during his campaign. GOP members know that they won’t win against Biden’s veto, but they wanted to at least show that every Republican is “on board saying this is good policy.” Unfortunately, it was not enough.
The Republicans would have required a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to override Biden’s veto. Unsurprisingly, the vote turned out to be less than that. “It’s a good vote. It’s a righteous vote. I wish we could pass it,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to get a lot of Democratic support.”
Industry groups have been a point of contention for environmentalists as they want stricter limits on pollution. Since the Clean Water Act in 1972, Congress and the courts have limited and expanded its authority several times. The new ruling now temporarily blocks industry advocates from significantly rolling back the EPA’s water pollution authority.
Republicans think that Biden’s new ruling leads to regulatory uncertainty, which ultimately slows down the process of getting major infrastructure projects underway. They argue that it will create more impediments on the economy, but particularly on farmers, to produce all we need to meet our food needs.
However, Democrats argued against the Republicans saying the opposition plan “would negatively affect tens of millions of United States households that depend on healthy wetlands and streams.”
Biden’s water regulation is currently temporarily blocked in more than half of the country, making Republicans’ attempts to thwart the president’s environmental agenda futile. Last week, a federal judge in North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction against the controversial rule in 24 states.
We can’t currently make a guess about the outcome of the Sackett v. EPA ruling case, which concerns an Idaho couple that has been barred for years from building a home on their property. The case centers on the Clean Water Act’s broad reach over development on private property. But one former EPA attorney, Mark Ryan, predicts “endless litigation” in the future.
Finally, Kevin Hern, the head of the Republican Study Committee, has been pushing to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ signature climate law, as part of their bill to raise the debt ceiling. Sen. Joe Manchin has also blasted the Environmental Protection Agency’s new emissions standards for cars and trucks, in his latest salvo against the Biden administration’s climate agenda.
Serious News: washingtonpost
