January 21, 2016

Ernst Urges Override of President Obama’s Veto of WOTUS Rule

“I will not stand idly by and allow mounting overregulation to overwhelm the commonsense voice of hardworking Americans. While I am deeply disappointed by today’s outcome, I remain committed to fighting for those across our state who are negatively impacted by this reckless rule.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) today released the following statement after voting to override President Obama’s veto of her bipartisan resolution of disapproval (S.J. Res. 22) to eliminate the expanded definition of the “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule:

“Today, I led a bipartisan majority in the Senate and voted to override President Obama’s reckless veto of my resolution to scrap the expanded WOTUS rule. This was an important opportunity to stand up for our farmers, ranchers, small businesses and manufacturers across our state who say this misguided rule threatens their very livelihoods.

“I’m disappointed that President Obama and Senate Democrats have repeatedly ignored the legitimate concerns raised by folks across the country who are directly impacted by the WOTUS rule and chose instead to stand with an unchecked federal agency in Washington, D.C.

Click here or the image below to watch Senator Ernst speak on the Senate floor on the need to override the President’s veto of S.J. Res. 22.

Senator Ernst’s Efforts to Scrap WOTUS Rule:

Vowed to remain committed to identifying new ways to push back against the WOTUS rule.
Praised the bipartisan passage in both chambers of her resolution of disapproval to eliminate the expanded definition of the WOTUS rule.
Called out the EPA’s illegal use of taxpayer dollars to rally support for the harmful WOTUS rule.
Applauded Senate passage of her resolution of disapproval to scrap the WOTUS rule which passed with bipartisan majority support.
Spoke on the floor of the Senate to urge support for her resolution of disapproval to eliminate the expanded definition of the WOTUS rule.
Released a statement following a federal court ruling to issue a nationwide stay, suspending implementation of WOTUS.
Cosponsored Senator Barrasso’s proposal, which provided clear principles and direction for the EPA and ACE to craft a WOTUS rule that takes into consideration positions held by key stakeholders.
Denounced the EPA’s finalized WOTUS rule as harmful to Iowa.
Introduced Iowa farmer and small business owner Darcy Maulsby to testify on the impact of WOTUS before the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, and share her personal experience with the harmful impact and overregulation by the EPA in Iowa.
Invited EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to Iowa to see the potential impact of overregulation in Iowa. Administrator McCarthy has yet to take Senator Ernst up on this offer.

Impact on Iowa:

According to an analysis by the Iowa Farm Bureau, an expanded definition of the WOTUS rule would expand EPA jurisdiction to over approximately 97 percent of Iowa. See map below:

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