Obama vetoes bill to stop Clean Water Rule

President Barack Obama on Tuesday issued a message that he has vetoed S.J. 22, the resolution that would have nullified the Clean Water Rule, also known as the Waters of the United States rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries of the Clean Water Act.

Obama said 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.”

The Senate is expected to vote on Thursday on a measure to override the veto, but it is expected to fail.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association and other groups issued statements critical of the president for vetoing the measure.

Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said the veto is “salt in the wounds of farmers and ranchers.”

“We remain mystified as to why he continues to support this fatally flawed rule,” Duvall said. “The Government Accountability Office found the rule was issued with the help of illegal ‘covert propaganda’ by EPA.”

–The Hagstrom Report