Today, the U.S. Senate voted to invalidate President Biden’s Clean Water Restoration rule. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress can overturn recently-finalized agency rules and prevent any future administration from issuing a rule that is substantially the same. President Biden has indicated he will veto the measure. After the vote, Earthjustice Senior Legislative Counsel Julián González issued the following statement:

“The Clean Water Restoration Rule is grounded in the scientific consensus of how waters and wetlands are hydrologically connected and incredibly important to protect. This is a welcome step forward from the Trump administration’s pro-polluter dirty water. Unfortunately, instead of relying on the science, Republicans — and some Democrats — are choosing to ally themselves with dirty industries whose mission is to eliminate any and all meaningful protections for our waters. The Senators who voted to remove these protections shamefully put corporate profits over our right to clean drinking water, healthy water-reliant economies, and sustainable water supply.

“Protections for clean water are constantly under attack from polluting industries, and this will not be the last Republican attempt to significantly weaken the Clean Water Act during this Congress. We urge Members of Congress who supported this resolution to reflect on why they are tossing aside concerns of people from all walks of life who value our waters in order to support those who would decimate the Clean Water Act if they had their way. Finally, we applaud President Biden for indicating he will reject this effort and veto this resolution when it reaches his desk.”