President Obama last week vetoed S.J.Res. 22, a resolution that would have reversed EPA’s controversial Clean Water Rule, a widely anticipated move following the House of Representatives’ passage of the measure earlier this month. Senate Republican leaders then quickly scheduled an override vote, but were unable to round up the 60 votes necessary to bring the measure to the floor. The Senate could revisit the issue this week, but the measure is unlikely to garner the two-thirds majority necessary to override the veto.
Sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and widely backed by congressional Republicans, S.J.Res. 22 would declare the Clean Water Rule to “have no force or effect.” The resolution passed the Senate in November and the House in January.
A veto message issued by President Obama on January 19 called the rule “a product of extensive public involvement and years of work,” and said S.J.Res. 22 “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.”
In her own statement last week, Sen. Ernst said she “remains committed” to reversing the rule, even though Congress lacks the votes to overturn the President’s veto. She went on to say the rule “is not about clean water [but is instead] about how much authority the federal government and unelected bureaucrats should have to regulate what is done on private land.”