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Sham investigation on Water rule

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By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

Colin Woodall, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, released the following statement in response to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report B-329504 [6]:

“Radical environmental activists and their allies in Congress first requested this sham investigation to distract from the real issue: Their misguided support for the gravely flawed 2015 WOTUS rule. It is a shame to think about the wasted taxpayer dollars that were devoted to this report in a vain attempt by Representatives Cummings, DeFazio, McCollum, and Pallone to grab a few headlines. From the beginning, we have known there was absolutely nothing wrong with the EPA Administrator encouraging stakeholders to comment on a rule that impacts their livelihoods. We are glad to see this issue finally put to rest so that we can focus on killing the 2015 WOTUS rule once and for all.” 

Background

About a year ago, NCBA released a video on the 2015 WOTUS rule [7] that featured an interview with then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Radical environmental groups cried foul, and House Representatives Elijah Cummings, Peter DeFazio, Betty McCollum, and Frank Pallone asked the GAO [8] to investigate whether Pruitt’s appearance violated federal anti-lobbying and propaganda laws. Today the GAO concluded definitively that the video “did not violate the publicity or propaganda, grassroots lobbying, or Interior anti-lobbying provisions.”