3.0.0 5341 2022-10-28T01:46:03Z 2022-10-28T01:46:03Z House HR 2019-12-06 116 [Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 195 (Friday, December 6, 2019)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. RICE of South Carolina:H.R. 5341.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section 8, Clause I:The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes,Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide forthe common Defense and general Welfare of the United States;but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniformthroughout the United States.[Page H9347]]]> hspw00 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee House Standing hspw02 Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Referred to 2019-12-09T15:15:22Z Referred to 2019-12-06T14:03:30Z 2019-12-09 hspw02 Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee 1 House committee actions Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Committee 2019-12-06 Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hspw00 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 2019-12-06 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2019-12-06 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress R000597 Rep. Rice, Tom [R-SC-7] Tom Rice R SC 7 N A000369 Rep. Amodei, Mark E. [R-NV-2] Mark Amodei R NV E. 2 2019-12-06 True B001299 Rep. Banks, Jim [R-IN-3] Jim Banks R IN 3 2019-12-06 True C000059 Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-42] KEN CALVERT R CA 42 2019-12-06 True D000615 Rep. Duncan, Jeff [R-SC-3] Jeff Duncan R SC 3 2019-12-06 True F000461 Rep. Flores, Bill [R-TX-17] Bill Flores R TX 17 2019-12-06 True G000584 Rep. Gianforte, Greg [R-MT-At Large] Greg Gianforte R MT 0 2019-12-06 True H001052 Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1] Andy Harris R MD 1 2019-12-06 True H001053 Rep. Hartzler, Vicky [R-MO-4] Vicky Hartzler R MO 4 2019-12-06 True H001074 Rep. Hollingsworth, Trey [R-IN-9] Trey Hollingsworth R IN 9 2019-12-06 True K000388 Rep. Kelly, Trent [R-MS-1] Trent Kelly R MS 1 2019-12-06 True M001158 Rep. Marchant, Kenny [R-TX-24] Kenny Marchant R TX 24 2019-12-06 True M001187 Rep. Meadows, Mark [R-NC-11] Mark Meadows R NC 11 2019-12-06 True M001195 Rep. Mooney, Alexander X. [R-WV-2] Alexander Mooney R WV X. 2 2019-12-06 True N000190 Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5] Ralph Norman R SC 5 2019-12-06 True O000168 Rep. Olson, Pete [R-TX-22] Pete Olson R TX 22 2019-12-06 True P000601 Rep. Palazzo, Steven M. [R-MS-4] Steven Palazzo R MS M. 4 2019-12-06 True P000605 Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-10] Scott Perry R PA 10 2019-12-06 True R000603 Rep. Rouzer, David [R-NC-7] David Rouzer R NC 7 2019-12-06 True S001189 Rep. Scott, Austin [R-GA-8] Austin Scott R GA 8 2019-12-06 True S001192 Rep. Stewart, Chris [R-UT-2] Chris Stewart R UT 2 2019-12-06 True W000813 Rep. Walorski, Jackie [R-IN-2] Jackie Walorski R IN 2 2019-12-06 True Y000065 Rep. Yoho, Ted S. [R-FL-3] Ted Yoho R FL S. 3 2019-12-06 True Y000033 Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large] DON YOUNG R AK E. 0 2019-12-06 True K000362 Rep. King, Steve [R-IA-4] Steve King R IA 4 2019-12-06 True B001305 Rep. Budd, Ted [R-NC-13] Ted Budd R NC 13 2019-12-06 True T000467 Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15] Glenn Thompson R PA 15 2019-12-06 True B001274 Rep. Brooks, Mo [R-AL-5] Mo Brooks R AL 5 2019-12-06 True G000563 Rep. Gibbs, Bob [R-OH-7] Bob Gibbs R OH 7 2019-12-06 True S001172 Rep. Smith, Adrian [R-NE-3] Adrian Smith R NE 3 2019-12-06 True W000814 Rep. Weber, Randy K., Sr. [R-TX-14] Randy Weber R TX K. 14 2019-12-06 True Environmental Protection Civil actions and liability Land use and conservation Legal fees and court costs Licensing and registrations Marine and coastal resources, fisheries Solid waste and recycling Water quality Water use and supply Environmental Protection 00 2019-12-06 Introduced in House 2020-06-03T18:05:17Z Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act

This bill revises requirements concerning (1) citizen suits under the Clean Water Act, (2) permits for wetlands, and (3) wetland mitigation.

Litigation costs (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) must be awarded to the prevailing party, thus the bill removes a court's discretion to award the fees. A prevailing party is defined as the party that prevails on more than half of the claims at issue.

In addition, the bill repeals the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny or restrict the use of any area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material when the discharge of those materials would have an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas.

Finally, the bill revises mitigation requirements. Current law requires compensatory mitigation to replace the loss of aquatic resource functions in a watershed when a permit to discharge dredged or fill materials into navigable waters has unavoidable impacts on aquatic resources. This bill prohibits government entities from carrying out compensatory mitigation in excess of existing regulatory requirements.

]]> Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act Display Title Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act Official Title as Introduced To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to citizen suits and the specification of disposal sites, and for other purposes. Introduced in House IH Short Title(s) as Introduced Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act Introduced in House IH Introduced in House 2019-12-06T05:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116hr5341ih/xml/BILLS-116hr5341ih.xml 2019-12-09 Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.