US President Joe Biden on Thursday vetoed legislation passed by congressional Republicans and corporate Democrats to prevent the federal government from protecting public health and the planet, blocking a resolution passed by both houses last month to empty the water protectors.
Democratic senses Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) joined former Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) and all Republicans in the Senate to pass HJ Res. 27 last week, following the bill’s passage in the GOP-controlled U.S. House.
The legislation rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) that are protected under the Clean Water Act, such as “traditional navigable waters, territorial seas, interstate waters, as well as that the upstream water resources that affect those waters.”
The regulations, introduced in December, are expected to restore protection to millions of marshes and other waterways after the Trump administration wiped out those regulations, allowing increased industrial pollution in nearly half of all wetlands in the world. country.
Biden’s veto said the president will protect Americans’ right to clean water.
Republicans would need a two-thirds majority to override Biden’s veto — a level of support they are unlikely to get.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) claimed Wednesday that a presidential veto would allow EPA officials to regulate pollution “far beyond the authority that Congress has actually provided in the Clean Water Act,” and expressed hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately rule that the government cannot protect navigable waters from industrial pollution.
The veto is the second of Biden’s presidency. Last month, he vetoed a resolution that attempted to overturn a rule allowing pension fund managers to consider the impact of their investments on the climate and the planet.
Republished from Creative Commons (Julia Conley, Editor) under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).