[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF A RULE SUBMITTED BY THE 
    CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY--VETO

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair lays before the Senate 
the President's veto message on S.J. Res. 22, which the clerk will read 
and which will be spread in full upon the Journal.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       Veto message to accompany S.J. Res. 22, a joint resolution 
     providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of 
     title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the 
     Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency 
     relating to the definition of ``waters of the United States'' 
     under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the veto 
message on S.J. Res. 22 be considered as having been read; that it be 
printed in the Record, and spread in full upon the Journal.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The veto message ordered to be printed in the Record is as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:
  I am returning herewith without my approval S.J. Res. 22, a 
resolution that would nullify a rule issued by the Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Department of the Army to clarify the 
jurisdictional boundaries of the Clean Water Act. The rule, which is a 
product of extensive public involvement and years of work, is critical 
to our efforts to protect the Nation's waters and keep them clean; is 
responsive to calls for rulemaking from the Congress, industry, and 
community stakeholders; and is consistent with decisions of the United 
States Supreme Court.
  We must protect the waters that are vital for the health of our 
communities and the success of our businesses, agriculture, and energy 
development. As I have noted before, too many of our waters have been 
left vulnerable. Pollution from upstream sources ends up in the rivers, 
lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters near which most Americans live 
and on which they depend for their drinking water, recreation, and 
economic development. Clarifying the scope of the Clean Water Act helps 
to protect these resources and safeguard public health. Because this 
resolution seeks to block the progress represented by this rule and 
deny businesses and communities the regulatory certainty and clarity 
needed to invest in projects that rely on clean water, I cannot support 
it. I am therefore vetoing this resolution.
                                                        Barack Obama.  
The White House, January 19, 2016.

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