Sam Graves

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams), the chairman of the Small Business Committee.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of H.J. Res. 27, which I introduced, to negate an ill-timed and ill-conceived rule coming out of the Biden administration which, if Congress fails to act, will go into effect later this month. The Clean Water Act is landmark legislation that was signed into law 50 years ago that has greatly improved the health of the Nation's waters. Unfortunately, we have consistently seen increasingly expansive interpretations of the Clean Water Act result in the implementation of a flawed and overreaching water policy. This has hindered our ability to achieve the Clean Water Act's true underlying water quality goals. There is no clearer example of this overreach than the debate over the definition of waters of the United States, or WOTUS. Decades of agency interpretation and misinterpretations have created uncertainty for rural communities, for farmers, for ranchers, for businesses and industries who rely on clean water. Although the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule finally provided long-awaited clarity on the scope of WOTUS, the new administration decided to unravel the water protection rule and attempt to replace it, once again, creating confusion and chaos. The definition of WOTUS matters to the everyday lives of people all over the country, including in my district. For instance, I have a constituent who wanted to build a pond on his property and had received local and State permits to do just that. But then the Army Corps of Engineers, they stepped in and they said he would have to spend $165,000 in environmental mitigation. This is absolutely outrageous. Returning to a more costly, burdensome, and broad WOTUS definition could have a massive impact on local communities and Americans' ability to do their jobs and manage their own private property. I urge support of this joint resolution to stop this burdensome and overreaching WOTUS rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Van Orden).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 199, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 27) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to ``Revised Definition of `Waters of the United States' '', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.J. Res. 27.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Brecheen).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, in closing, while the Clean Water Act has greatly improved the health of our Nation's waters, expansive interpretations of it have also led to a whole lot of uncertainty in the 50 years since it was passed, specifically when it comes to the definition of WOTUS. Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration may think that they can get away with this overbearing WOTUS rule and dramatic, dramatic expansion of Federal authority, but we have to ensure that everyday Americans are not subject to this outrageous government power grab, and that is what it is. Let's keep flawed Federal overreach out of the government by passing H.J. Res. 27. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Burlison).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer), the cosponsor of the resolution.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Williams).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Duarte).

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse), who is the chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the cost estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office for H.J. Res. 27-- Providing for Congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to ``Revised Definition of `Waters of the United States.' '' The cost estimate was not available at the time of the Committee Report filing. H.J. RES. 27, PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize a special resident of Center, Missouri. Mr. Ron Evans has served on the school board in Ralls County, Missouri for 30 years. In 1967, Ron graduated from Mark Twain High School. His wife, Judy, their 3 children, and several grandchildren have all been students at Mark Twain High School. He was elected to the Ralls County R-II School Board in 1993 and went on to serve 9 more three-year terms, at times serving as President. Over the course of Ron's 30 years of service to the district, many changes have occurred including the consolidation of all Ralls County communities into one education building. Ron has been involved with more than $20 million dollars of renovations and projects. Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in recognizing Ron Evans on his retirement. I ask you to join me in thanking him for his service to his community and for being an outstanding leader. I am proud to represent Mr. Evans in the United States House of Representatives.