Conaway Chronicle: Mike Conaway
Stopping WOTUS Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. This week I spoke in support of H.R. 1732 the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2015. The bill which would force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to stop moving forward with the proposed Waters of the United States" rule passed the House by a vote of 261-155. This rule in its current form is a massive overreach of EPAs authority and will impact nearly every farmer and rancher in America.
It gives EPA the ability to regulate essentially any body of water they want including farm ponds and even ditches that are dry for most of the year. The EPAs defense of this rule is that it provides clarity to producers regarding what is and is not regulated but in reality this rule will allow nearly every body of water in the United States to be controlled by federal regulators. To watch my remarks on the bill please
click here.
Challenging the Presidents Amnesty Plan The President disregarded the Constitution when he implemented his illegal amnesty plan last year. As a result the State of Texas stepped up to lead a lawsuit against the Administration to stop the Presidents executive action from becoming our nations new immigration policy. I joined 112 Members of the House and Senate to sign an amicus brief in that lawsuit.
The President himself said over 20 times that he did not have the authority to act on immigration in the manner that he ultimately did and in February a U.S. District Court agreed and halted implementation of the Presidents executive action. Im confident that the courts will continue to find the Presidents actions illegal and unconstitutional as this suit moves forward. To read the amicus brief please
click here.
Protecting Pain-Capable Children Wednesday the House of Representatives voted to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act by a vote of 242-184. I cosponsored this legislation because every child deserves to be protected and right now thats not always the case. This legislation takes on the important task of defending the defenseless: pain-capable unborn children. There is nothing more important than respect for the sanctity of life and after 20 weeks babies are able to feel pain and are increasingly able to live outside the womb. While I am saddened that this legislation will not protect all unborn children it is a start. I would urge the Senate to take up this legislation quickly so that all children capable of feeling pain are protected under our law.
Time to Lift the Oil Export Ban This morning I once again spoke in favor of lifting the oil export ban. I submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act this week that would repeal the oil export ban. While the amendment did not ultimately make it into the final bill this is an important issue that is gathering nation-wide support. It has become an antiquated policy that is now only serving to harm Americans. For example right now we allow Iran to export more oil than we do our own country. I will continue to fight to get this outdated ban lifted. To view my remarks on the House Floor please
click here.
