Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC - Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC) and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) issued the following joint statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Sackett v. EPA case: 

“The Supreme Court’s decision is clearly a decisive win for America’s farmers, small businesses, property owners, and those who help build our infrastructure.  As we said all along, the Biden Administration should have waited on Sackett, knowing how much of an impact the decision could have on their costly, burdensome, and overreaching WOTUS rule.  The Supreme Court rightly recognizes that the significant nexus test, which underpinned the Biden rule, is an improper reading of the Clean Water Act. The only reasonable step for the Administration to take now is to withdraw its ill-advised rule.”

Background:

On February 2, 2023, Rouzer and Graves introduced 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 March 9, 2023, the House of Representatives approved the Rouzer-Graves resolution with bipartisan support in a vote of 227-198.

On March 29, 2023, the Senate also passed the resolution of disapproval in bipartisan fashion in a 53-43 vote.

On April 6, 2023, President Biden vetoed the resolution of disapproval, siding with far-left environmental activists over everyday Americans, as well as majorities in both Houses of Congress.