WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5078, the Water of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014 by a vote of 262 to 152. This legislation stops the radical rule proposed by EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to redefine and expand dramatically the Clean Water Act and impose costly permitting processes for normal farming and ranching activities. Following the bill’s passage, Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS-01), a co-sponsor of the legislation, issued the following statement:

“I would like to commend my colleagues for the passage of our Bill and their focus on protecting Americans from the EPA’s unprecedented power grab, as President Obama attempts to bypass the legislative process and ignore Congress.

“This bipartisan legislation demonstrates that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle understand the importance of limiting Washington’s growing over-regulation and force the EPA to ditch this rule. While Washington bureaucrats want to regulate every drop of water in Kansas, including our road ditches, farm ponds, prairie potholes, swimming pools, water tanks, and rain puddles in Kansas and elsewhere, I will continue to work to protect Kansas agriculture and our other small businesses.”

Congressman Huelskamp joined with 230 of his colleagues to request the Obama administration to withdraw the rule on May 1. The bipartisan May 1, 2014 letter can be found here. In July, Congressman Huelskamp spoke in favor and voted for the Energy and Water Appropriations bill which included a provision he asked for to defund the rule for the next year.