You may have missed among all the primary season battles a vital action by President Obama last week: vetoing GOP led efforts to overturn EPA and Army Corps rules for protection of water quality. Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees has a great summary of what the rules do in diaries noting the failed vote to override the veto in the Senate (sadly three Dems were on the wrong side of that vote, fortunately the override still failed) and the earlier vote in the House to overturn the Clean Water Rules (12 Ds defected on that vote) that set up the need for the President's veto. Please read and rec those diaries if you missed them before.
At a time when the children of Flint have been poisoned through lead tainted water, it is unconscionable that politicians would be trying to roll back water quality regulations. That the President needed to use his veto pen to turn back this assault is just another reminder of why we must win in November.
The President's veto message also deserves to be read:
Veto Message from the President -- S.J. 22
To the Senate of the United States:
I am returning herewith without my approval S.J. Res. 22, a resolution that would nullify a rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries of the Clean Water Act. The rule, which is a product of extensive public involvement and years of work, is critical to our efforts to protect the Nation's waters and keep them clean; is responsive to calls for rulemaking from the Congress, industry, and community stakeholders; and is consistent with decisions of the United States Supreme Court.
We must protect the waters that are vital for the health of our communities and the success of our businesses, agriculture,and energy development. As I have noted before, too many of our waters have been left vulnerable. Pollution from upstream sources ends up in the rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters near which most Americans live and on which they depend for their drinking water, recreation, and economic development. Clarifying the scope of the Clean Water Act helps to protect these resources and safeguard public health. Because this resolution 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, I cannot support it. I am therefore vetoing this resolution.
Barack Obama
The White House
January 19, 2016
(Emphasis added. Source: www.whitehouse.gov/...)
Thank you, President Obama.