The House of Representatives last week approved a resolution of disapproval against the Obama Administration’s Clean Water Rule, a measure that if enacted would nullify the controversial EPA/Army Corps of Engineers regulation. But the resolution’s margin of approval was far below the level necessary to overcome a promised presidential veto, meaning the rule will stand for the time being.
The Senate first approved the resolution, S.J.Res. 22, in November by a vote of 53 – 44, while the House’s margin of support was 253 – 166. In each case, a handful of Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in voting to disapprove of the rule, but the vote in each chamber was well short of the two-thirds majority needed to overturn President Obama’s planned veto. In a veto threat issued against the measure last fall, the White House said, “S.J.Res 22 would nullify years of work and deny businesses and communities the regulatory certainty needed to invest in projects that rely on clean water.”
It is possible congressional Republicans will continue to target the Clean Water Rule by attaching repeal language to various pieces of legislation, but similar efforts have ultimately been unsuccessful over the past several years. It appears most likely the fate of the rule will be decided in the courts, which are working through a series of challenges to the regulation.