House Passes Bill Blocking Administration’s Waters of the U.S. Rule

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5078, the “Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014.” This bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) from implementing their proposed rule on Waters of the U.S. The bill passed 262-152 with just one Republican opposing it and 35 Democrats supporting it. Seventeen members, 13 of them Democrats, did not vote on the bill. Due to the controversial nature of this bill, it is unlikely that the bill would be considered in the Senate before the November election.