Fischer Applauds President Trump's WOTUS Executive Order

U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today joined President Donald J. Trump at the White House for the signing of an Executive Order to roll back the "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule. Fischer has long been a proponent of scrapping WOTUS altogether.

"Over the past four years, I've sounded the alarm about the harmful effects WOTUS would have on all Nebraskans. The American dream of owning a home would have been out of reach for many more families, due to the higher costs associated with these regulations. Taxpayers would have seen increased costs for road maintenance, and ag producers would have faced expensive permitting requirements. Today, President Trump is taking a concrete and much-needed step to unravel WOTUS and put Nebraskans back in charge of decisions affecting our state's precious water resources," said Fischer.

Earlier this year, Senator Fischer and Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced a resolution that expressed the need to vacate the Obama administration's WOTUS rule. The resolution signified the senators' intent to continue working with the Trump administration to scrap the harmful rule altogether.

Senator Fischer has been a leader on additional legislative efforts to stop WOTUS. Last Congress, she helped introduce the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, which would have required the Obama administration to consult states and stakeholders before imposing federal regulations on state-owned water resources. She also helped introduce the Defending Rivers from Overreaching Policies (DROP) Act. This bill targeted the flawed science used by the EPA to expand the definition of water.

In March 2015, Senator Fischer chaired a field hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in Lincoln, Nebraska, to hear firsthand from Nebraskans about the effects of WOTUS.

The courts have also questions the dubious legality of WOTUS. In October 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a stay blocking the implementation of WOTUS nationwide. In January 2017, the Supreme Court decided to take up the dispute over which courts have jurisdiction to hear challenges to WOTUS.

Source