The U.S. House voted to approve a rider in the energy and water appropriations bill today aimed at removing protections for America’s rivers, lakes, and streams.
Washington, D.C. — Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted against Clean Water Act protections for streams, lakes, and rivers across the United States. The House majority voted to keep a Dirty Water Rider in the House’s Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which would expose 60 percent of our country’s streams and at least 20 million acres of wetlands to toxic pollution and threaten the drinking water of 117 million Americans. The Dirty Water Rider was introduced by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) in an effort to block the Obama administration from protecting waters of the United States, making it easier for polluters to dump their waste into our waters.
If you’re going to vote to approve a bill that may expose the drinking water of 117 million people to toxic pollutants, I suppose Friday is the best time to do that. You know, so no one will notice.
Fortunately, it’s unlikely this will become law. And like the transportation bill that has yet to see the light of day, we can expect the House of Boehner to sit on their hands from now until the next session of congress.
