The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) held a hearing on Wednesday, April 16, to receive testimony on H.R. 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act. The bill is sponsored by T&I Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.), who is seeking to overturn two recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding jurisdiction over wetlands. The bill seeks to broaden the scope of federal jurisdiction over waters by removing the term "navigable" and replacing it with the term "waters of the United States," a term that opponents of the legislation would dramatically increase federal jurisdiction.

NAR strongly opposes this legislation and is working with a coalition, the Waters Advocacy Coalition, in furtherance of this goal. The April 16 hearing featured 23 witnesses on five panels including a witness representing the Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC).

Last week, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a similar (though shorter) hearing on a similar bill, S. 1870, sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).

Click here to read to read testimony for the Waters Advocacy Coalition.

Click here to view additional information on the April 16th T&I hearing.

Click here to view additional information on the Senate EPW hearing.