The House began debate on a $32.1 billion bill funding the Department of Interior and Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday afternoon, with a long night of debate over amendments ahead.
The House was set to consider 131 amendments to the spending bill Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. The amendments ranged in scope from blocking various environmental regulations proposed by President Obama’s EPA to blocking drilling in some of the country’s coastal areas to funding for some local pet projects.
The most controversial portions of the bill concern funding for the EPA, which would see its budget cut by $164 million from last year’s level in the proposal. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., said that’s the best way to protect the country from the Obama administration’s regulatory overreach.
“There’s a great deal of concern over the number of regulatory actions being pursued by the EPA in the absence of legislation and without clear congressional direction,” Calvert said. “For this reason, the bill includes a number of provisions to stop unnecessary and damaging regulatory overreach by the agency.”
The bill would keep the Obama administration from implementing the Waters of the United States rule, which seeks to change the definition of which waters are federally protected, block the Clean Power Plan’s carbon regulations on new and existing coal power plants, slow the implementation of the EPA’s new ozone rules and keep the EPA from enforcing its stream buffer that would keep coal production away from some waters.
Democrats who spoke before debate on amendments began Tuesday afternoon unanimously opposed the bill, though they agreed there are some portions of it that they support.
Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said the bill falls short in protecting public health and the country’s natural resources by slashing the EPA’s budget. She said the fact that the budget is $64 million less than the current budget means many necessary programs would be underfunded next year.
She pointed to the EPA’s inability to stop the lead water crisis in Flint, Mich., as proof that cutting the EPA’s budget is going to harm Americans. Relying more on state regulators instead of federal officials is not a best practice, she said.
“This year, the critical need for the EPA was unmistakable as our nation watched a tragedy unfold in Flint, Mich., as children were poisoned by lead in their drinking water,” she said.
“Flint is an accumulation of years of weakening the EPA through budget cuts,” she added.
Calvert pointed out that the budget does increase funding for communities such as Flint that are undergoing lead water crises and would help the EPA respond to similar incidents.
Obama’s environmental regulations were set to be targeted throughout much of Tuesday night. Among the EPA programs and regulations targeted by Republican amendments was the Air, Climate and Energy Research Program, the Well Control Rule and the Obama administration’s National Ocean Policy.
One amendment would eliminate all funding for the EPA’s criminal enforcement division, leaving the agency unable to investigate environmental crimes.
Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., said the EPA needs to be kept in check to keep it from harming his constituents.
“The president’s war on coal is bankrupting the retirement of seniors and widows, jeopardizing their financial security,” he said.
