Congress Votes To Repeal Clean Water Act Rule, President Forced to Veto

As you might recall, the House put forth a resolution to dissolve a new river protecting Waters of the United States Rule, or WOTUS. Well, they voted to repeal it and in an unfortunate turn of events, last week the Senate followed suit by also voting to repeal these clean water protections. It seems like clean water would be a no-brainer, but apparently not for many of our lawmakers. WOTUS is the rule that determines which waters in our country fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act and receive federal protection, and because this rule and being able to keep pollution out of our freshwater supplies is so important, the President stepped in to veto this legislation.

This is good news for rivers and clean water in our country, and it was relieving to see the administration stand up for the Clean Water Act and keep this rule in place. Still, it’s troubling to see how many lawmakers voted to unravel Americans’ access to clean water.

I just got off the phone with my Representative’s office to share my concerns because I know that following up after a vote might have even more impact than asking my lawmakers to do something in the first place. Following up after a vote signals to your lawmakers that you are paying attention—not just to what’s going on in Congress, but to what your lawmakers are doing and how they are voting. We’ve made it easy to send a message, and our easy-action tool will automatically adjust your draft letter based on how your lawmakers voted (the final vote in the Senate was 53-43). Take action now, and let the people who represent you in government know that you’re watching and that you care deeply about how they vote on bills that affect our rivers and water quality today!

By Evan Stafford