President Joe Biden vetoed the Congressional effort to overturn the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The bipartisan Congressional Review Act joint resolution had been approved by both houses of Congress. Several agricultural groups had expressed support for the WOTUS resolution and had encouraged Biden to follow through with the will of Congress.
“Both the House and Senate voted in a bipartisan manner to vacate this Administration’s disastrous WOTUS rule,” Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and cosponsor of the resolution, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson said in a press release. “America’s farmers, ranchers, and landowners have made it clear this WOTUS definition is overly burdensome and unworkable, only exacerbating the regulatory uncertainty rural communities currently face. By vetoing this resolution, President Biden has once again turned his back on rural America.”
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer also expressed disappointment in the action. Additionally, the two noted their eagerness for a House vote seeking to override the President’s veto. However, the resolution vote in both chambers of Congress indicates a lack of a two-thirds majority necessary to overturn a veto. U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Shelley Moore Capito were also among the lawmakers disappointed by Biden’s action.
In a statement, Biden said that the WOTUS resolution would have threatened economic growth and created additional uncertainty. Biden stated that the revised WOTUS definition “provides clear rules of the road.” Agricultural groups such as the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) disagree with that assessment.
“The President’s decision to disregard the bipartisan will of Congress also causes farmers, ranchers and all Americans to doubt his often-repeated commitment to work with Congress when Members come together on a bipartisan basis,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “They did so and he rejected their will with the stroke of a pen. Mr. President, you let us down.”
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