Shuster to Lead First Bicameral Hearing on EPA Power Grab
Congressman Bill Shuster (R-Hollidaysburg) will be leading a joint hearing with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on Wednesday, February 4th at 10:00am. The hearing, which is the first bicameral hearing of the 114th Congress, will focus on the impact that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Waters of the United States proposal would have on state and local governments.
"We need to make certain that the EPA does not expand its regulatory overreach to include bodies of water as small as ditches, wetlands, and ponds on private property," said Congressman Shuster. "While House efforts to stop this power grab were blocked by the Senate last Congress, I look forward to working with the new Republican majority to send a bill to the president's desk that protects our farmers, home builders, and small businesses from this damaging proposal."
The bicameral hearing titled, "Impacts of the Proposed Waters of the United States Rule on State and Local Governments" will allow the House and Senate to begin the process of working together on crafting a legislative proposal to prevent the EPA's proposed rule from taking effect. Last Congress, Shuster guided the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act through the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which he chairs. This bill passed in the House 262-152 but failed to be considered in what was then a Democrat-controlled Senate.
The Waters of the United States proposal by the Obama Administration is an attempt to "clarify" which water bodies are subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, the result of which will drastically broaden the scope of the federal government's reach. This will be the second hearing Congressman Shuster has chaired on the issue. In April, he chaired a field hearing in Altoona to raise awareness of the many negative implications this proposal would have on the country.
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