[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E687-E688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              REGULATORY INTEGRITY PROTECTION ACT OF 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. TED LIEU

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 12, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under

[[Page E688]]

     consideration the bill (H.R. 1732) to preserve existing 
     rights and responsibilities with respect to waters of the 
     United States, and for other purposes:

  Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Chair, I rise today to express my 
strong opposition to H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection 
Act. This harmful legislation undermines the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers' ability to regulate and 
protect our wetlands and streams, and it is an assault on the Clean 
Water Act.
  H.R. 1732 would block the EPA's current Clean Water rulemaking, 
forcing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to go back to the drawing 
board and start over with the process, undermining years of work 
undertaken by agencies, businesses, and numerous other stakeholders. 
Every American deserves to have access to clean water, and the proposed 
Clean Water rules, under the Clean Water Act, would safeguard the 
drinking water of more than 117 million people who currently rely on 
streams lacking clear protection. The EPA has acted to protect 
America's waters under the Act before, and it is an outrage that House 
Republicans are blocking the EPA and Army Corps from doing the same 
now. Americans and businesses deserve certainty and understanding 
regarding which waterways are covered by the Clean Water Act, and H.R. 
1732 would only lead to more confusion.
   The EPA engaged in extensive public outreach and received hundreds 
of thousands of public comments on the proposed Rule, and the Rule is 
built upon peer-reviewed science. At the very least, the public 
deserves to see the final rule before Congress decides to block it. 
Congress should let the EPA and the Army Corps do their jobs and 
protect America's small streams and wetlands from pollution. I oppose 
this legislation.

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