House Approves Goodlatte Amendment to Stop EPA Power Grab

Press Release

This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives approved Congressman Bob Goodlatte's (R-Va.) amendment to H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, by a vote of 214-197. He was joined by Congressmen G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.), Bill Shuster (R-Ohio), and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in introducing this amendment.

Congressman Goodlatte released the following statement on passage of the amendment:

"Congress intended that implementation of the Clean Water Act be a collaborative approach between the states and federal government. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. Through policies passed down by the EPA under the previous Administration, every state in the watershed has basically been given an ultimatum -- either the state does exactly what the EPA says, or it faces the threat of an EPA takeover of its water quality programs.

"My amendment stops the EPA from hijacking states' water quality strategies. It removes the ability of the EPA to take retaliatory or "backstop' actions against the six states located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed if they do not meet EPA mandated goals. The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure, and I support efforts to see it restored. But in order to achieve this goal, the states and the EPA must work together. The EPA cannot be allowed to railroad the states and micromanage the process. I am pleased that the House passed this amendment to stop this federal power grab."

Goodlatte spoke on the House floor in support of his amendment.

Source