After the Senate failed last week to overturn a veto by President Obama of a Resolution disapproving the rule to redefine Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS), two senators vowed to introduce an amendment to an energy bill that would withdraw the rule and provide specific direction to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Corps of Engineers (Corps) for redrafting the rule.
Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and John Barrasso (R-WY) will try this week to attach the amendment to a bill (S. 1140) that passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last year but failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to pass the full Senate. Senator Hoeven has also expressed his intent to again seek a funding ban to implement the rule during consideration of the FY 2017 appropriations bills. Meanwhile, Senators James Inhofe (R-OK) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) have requested that the Department of Justice investigate possible criminal activity after a Government Accountability Office report concluded that EPA officials inappropriately used federal funds to solicit support for the controversial rule. The rule was stayed in November 2015 by a federal circuit court pending a decision on which federal courts have jurisdiction to hear at least seven cases filed against the rule.