[House Report 113-581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 113-581
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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 5078) TO PRESERVE
EXISTING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITH RESPECT TO WATERS OF THE
UNITED STATES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION
OF THE RESOLUTION (H. RES. 644) CONDEMNING AND DISAPPROVING OF THE
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWFUL STATUTORY
REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY CONGRESS BEFORE RELEASING INDIVIDUALS DETAINED AT
UNITED STATES NAVAL STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, AND EXPRESSING
NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS OVER THE RELEASE OF FIVE TALIBAN LEADERS AND
THE REPERCUSSIONS OF NEGOTIATING WITH TERRORISTS
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September 8, 2014.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Rules,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 715]
The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration
House Resolution 715, by a record vote of 7 to 3, report the
same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution
be adopted.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION
The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 5078, the
Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act
of 2014, under a structured rule. The resolution provides one
hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure. The resolution waives all
points of order against consideration of the bill. The
resolution waives all points of order against provisions in the
bill. The resolution makes in order only those amendments
printed in this report. Each such amendment may be offered only
in the order printed in this report, may be offered only by a
Member designated in this report, shall be considered as read,
shall be debatable for the time specified in this report
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an
opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be
subject to a demand for division of the question in the House
or in the Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives all
points of order against the amendments printed in this report.
The rule provides one motion to recommit with or without
instructions.
Section 2 of the resolution provides for consideration of
H. Res. 644, Condemning and disapproving of the Obama
administration's failure to comply with the lawful statutory
requirement to notify Congress before releasing individuals
detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
and expressing national security concerns over the release of
five Taliban leaders and the repercussions of negotiating with
terrorists, under a closed rule. The resolution provides one
hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services. The
resolution waives all points of order against consideration of
the resolution. The resolution provides that the amendments to
the resolution and the preamble recommended by the Committee on
Armed Services now printed in the resolution shall be
considered as adopted and the resolution, as amended, shall be
considered as read. The resolution provides one motion to
recommit with or without instructions.
EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS
The waiver of all points of order against consideration of
H.R. 5078 includes a waiver of clause 4(a) of rule XIII, which
prohibits consideration of legislation in the House until the
third calendar day on which each report of a committee on that
measure or matter has been available to Members, Delegates and
the Resident Commissioner. The waiver is necessary because the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure filed a
supplemental report to accompany H.R. 5078 on September 8,
2014. However, it is important to note that the Congressional
Budget Office cost estimate included in the supplemental report
has been publicly available since August 1, 2014.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
provisions in H.R. 5078, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendments printed in this report, the Committee is not
aware of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in
nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of H. Res. 644, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
COMMITTEE VOTES
The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion
to report, together with the names of those voting for and
against, are printed below:
Rules Committee record vote No. 185
Motion by Ms. Foxx to report the rule. Adopted: 7-3
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Majority Members Vote Minority Members Vote
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Ms. Foxx........................................ Yea Ms. Slaughter..................... Nay
Mr. Bishop of Utah.............................. ............ Mr. McGovern...................... Nay
Mr. Cole........................................ Yea Mr. Hastings of Florida........... Nay
Mr. Woodall..................................... Yea Mr. Polis......................... ............
Mr. Nugent...................................... Yea
Mr. Webster..................................... Yea
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen................................ ............
Mr. Burgess..................................... Yea
Mr. Sessions, Chairman.......................... Yea
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SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 5078 MADE IN ORDER
1. DeFazio (OR): Requires the Secretary of the Army and the
Administrator of the EPA to withdraw both the proposed and
interpretive rules published in April 2014, and to instead
develop and issue for public comment a revised proposed rule to
define Waters of the United States after consultation with
States, local governments and stakeholders. (10 minutes)
2. Bishop, Tim (NY): Provides policy provisions that the
Secretary and Administrator are prohibited from including in a
final rule. (10 minutes)
3. Bishop, Tim (NY): States that provisions of the bill do
not apply if it is determined implementation is likely to have
an adverse impact on water quality. (10 minutes)
TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 5078 MADE IN ORDER
1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Defazio of Oregon or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 3, strike line 3 and all that follows through line 23 on
page 8 and insert the following (and redesignate the subsequent
section accordingly):
SECTION 1. WITHDRAWAL OF PROPOSED AND INTERPRETIVE RULES.
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary and the Administrator shall withdraw--
(1) the proposed rule described in the notice of
proposed rule published in the Federal Register
entitled ``Definition of `Waters of the United States'
Under the Clean Water Act'' (79 Fed. Reg. 22188 (April
21, 2014)); and
(2) the interpretive rule described in the notice of
availability published in the Federal Register entitled
``Notice of Availability Regarding the Exemption from
Permitting Under Section 404(f)(1)(A) of the Clean
Water Act to Certain Agricultural Conservation
Practices'' (79 Fed. Reg. 22276 (April 21, 2014)).
SEC. 2. DEVELOPMENT OF REVISED RULE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary and the Administrator shall
develop a revised proposed rule to define the term ``waters of
the United States'' as used in the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and to identify--
(1) the scope or types of waters covered under that
Act; and
(2) the scope or types of waters not covered under
that Act.
(b) Consultation.--In developing the revised proposed rule,
the Secretary and the Administrator shall--
(1) consider the public comments received on the
proposed and interpretive rules referred to in section
1; and
(2) consult with and solicit recommendations from
State and local officials, stakeholders, and other
interested parties.
(c) Publication.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
withdrawal of the proposed and interpretive rules under section
1, the Secretary and the Administrator shall publish the
revised proposed rule in the Federal Register.
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2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Bishop of New York or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Beginning on page 3, strike line 7 and all that follows
through page 4, line 20, and insert the following:
(a) In General.--The Secretary and the Administrator are
prohibited from implementing any final rule that is based on
the proposed rule described in the notice of proposed rule
published in the Federal Register entitled ``Definition of
`Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act'' (79
Fed. Reg. 22188 (April 21, 2014)) if such final rule--
(1) expands the scope of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et. seq.) beyond those
waterbodies covered prior to the decisions of the U.S.
Supreme Court in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook
County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (531 U.S. 159
(2001)) and Rapanos v. United States (547 U.S. 715
(2006));
(2) is inconsistent with the judicial opinions of
Justice Scalia or Justice Kennedy in the Rapanos
decision;
(3) increases the regulation of ditches when compared
to existing Federal Water Pollution Control Act
regulations or guidance;
(4) eliminates historical statutory or regulatory
exemptions for agriculture;
(5) increases the scope of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act with respect to groundwater;
(6) requires Federal Water Pollution Control Act
regulation of erosional features;
(7) requires Federal Water Pollution Control Act
permits for land-use activities;
(8) requires Federal Water Pollution Control Act
regulation of farm ponds, puddles, water on driveways,
birdbaths, or playgrounds;
(9) is inconsistent with the latest peer-reviewed
studies; or
(10) was promulgated without public notice or
comment.
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3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Bishop of New York or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
At the end of the bill, add the following:
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY.
None of the provisions in this Act shall apply if the
Administrator determines that the implementation of such
provisions is likely--
(1) to increase the interstate movement of pollutants
through surface waters;
(2) to increase the costs to be incurred by a State
to maintain or achieve approved water quality standards
for the State; or
(3) to cause or contribute to the impairment of
surface or coastal waters of a State.