{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://scholten.house.gov/media/press-releases/scholten-leads-50-representatives-condemning-trump-administration-plan", "Scholten Leads 50 Representatives In Condemning Trump Administration Plan To Dramatically Reduce Wetland Protection", "2025-12-23", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "MI", "Hillary J. Scholten", "S001221", "scholten.house.gov", "scholten", "https://scholten.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C - Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03) is leading a group of 50 Representatives in condemning a Trump Administration plan to dramatically reduce Clean Water Act (CWA) protections across the country. A recent proposed rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) would allow the federal government to regulate wetlands only if they meet a two-part test: They would need to contain surface water throughout the \u201cwet season,\u201d and they would need to be abutting and touching a river, stream or other waterbody that also flows throughout the wet season. This definition would drastically limit the waters that can be regulated by the federal government, worsening pollution nationwide.\n\nThe proposed rule\u2019s public comment period closes on January 5, 2025. The members are calling for the comment period to be extended in order to understand the significant harm this rule will have on everything from pollution exposure to water bills to summer vacations.\n\n\u201cWe write to express our deep concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 (USACE) recently proposed rule defining 'Waters of the United States\u2019 (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA),\u201d wrote the members. \u201cIf finalized, this rule will threaten Americans\u2019 public health and stifle economic prosperity. Limiting protections over rivers, streams, and wetlands will increase the possibility of pollution exposure for families. In addition to making our families sicker, the proposal would boost the threat of flooding, further risking lives and damage to communities. The proposal further weakens states\u2019 ability to protect locally important waterbodies or shared drinking water sources from their upstream neighbors who might have competing priorities for the same resources. This rulemaking will have significant impacts on Americans\u2019 everyday lives\u2013from their water bills to their summer vacations\u2013and it is incumbent on the Agencies to provide sufficient time and opportunity for the public to delineate these impacts. We urge an extension of the comment period to 90 days to allow for robust public input.\u201d\n\nThe letter was also signed by Representatives Donald Beyer (VA-08), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Andr\u00e9 Carson (IN-07), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Christopher DeLuzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Bill Foster (IL-11), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jes\u00fas Garc\u00eda (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry Johnson (GA-04), Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Rick Larsen (WA-02), John Larson (CT-01), George Latimer (NY-16), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James McGovern (MA-02), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Norton (DC-AL), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Emily Randall (WA-06), Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Janice Schakowsky (IL-09), Bradley Schneider (IL-10), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Maxine Waters (CA-43), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).\n\nThe full text of the letter is available below:\n\nAdministrator Zeldin and Assistant Secretary Telle:\n\nWe write to express our deep concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 (USACE) recently proposed rule defining \u201cWaters of the United States\u201d (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). While we recognize that the Supreme Court of the United States significantly eroded CWA protections in its 2023 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, this proposal uses the guise of Sackett to further restrict which water bodies are safeguarded from pollution and destruction under the CWA, while failing to provide for \u201cclean water\u201d or a \u201cclear rule\u201d, as the Agencies have suggested. Our economy and families cannot afford heightened attacks on our most precious natural resource: water.\n\nThe EPA and USACE have provided only 45 days for public comment on the proposal. Given the severity of its impact, we request that the comment period for the proposed rule be extended for a period of at least 90 days. This revision of WOTUS would exacerbate the harms of the Sackett decision\u2013which already removed federal protections over millions of acres of wetlands\u2013by excluding unknown, further expanses of wetlands that do not meet the agencies\u2019 new and confusing wetness test. The proposal creates new, vague language that will exclude unquantified numbers of streams, including streams that are influenced by rainfall or snowmelt, as well as invites further limits on federal protections beyond those covered by Sackett\u2014potentially excluding more rivers, streams, and wetlands essential to protect local waterbodies than at any time since the 1972 enactment of the CWA.\n\nWhile the Agencies admit that they do not know the expanse of waters and wetlands that will lose federal protection under this proposal, including waterbodies already designated as impaired (polluted) by states, preliminary estimates suggest that this proposed rule will roll back federal protections from approximately tens of millions of acres of wetlands and millions of stream miles, including streams which provide nearly 55 percent of the water moving through our nation\u2019s river basins and many used in drinking water supplies. The new WOTUS definition in this rule is significant: the sheer scope of the proposed rule merits an extended public comment period to ensure that communities can appropriately provide insight on how it will impact their access to clean, safe, and reliable water.\n\nIf finalized, this rule will threaten Americans\u2019 public health and stifle economic prosperity. Limiting protections over rivers, streams, and wetlands will increase the possibility of pollution exposure for families. In addition to making our families sicker, the proposal would boost the threat of flooding, further risking lives and damage to communities. The proposal further weakens states\u2019 ability to protect locally important waterbodies or shared drinking water sources from their upstream neighbors who might have competing priorities for the same resources.\n\nDespite these impacts, the proposed rule does not account for how increased water pollution will undercut local economies and increase prices for Americans. America\u2019s tourism and outdoor recreation sectors rely on clean water and pristine environments to support local jobs and bolster main streets throughout the nation. Unmitigated pollution in our waterways will increase clean-up costs for local water treatment facilities, which will ultimately be passed down to ratepayers, many of whom are already struggling to pay their utility bills. The EPA and USACE\u2019s proposed rule will have far-reaching implications on our nation\u2019s public health, economy, and environment. We believe this proposal is contrary to the goals and objectives of the Clean Water Act and uses the pretext of Sackett to reward polluters at the expense of a safe, reliable, and affordable clean water for everyday American families.\n\nThis rulemaking will have significant impacts on Americans\u2019 everyday lives\u2013from their water bills to their summer vacations\u2013and it is incumbent on the Agencies to provide sufficient time and opportunity for the public to delineate these impacts. We urge an extension of the comment period to 90 days to allow for robust public input. Thank you for your time and attention to this pressing matter.\n\nSincerely,\n\nHillary Scholten", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://scholten.house.gov/media/press-releases/scholten-leads-50-representatives-condemning-trump-administration-plan"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9420758578926325, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}