One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
Of the
United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and seventeen

Joint Resolution

Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to savings arrangements established by States for non-governmental employees.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to “Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees” (published at 81 Fed. Reg. 59464 (August 30, 2016)), and such rule shall have no force or effect.

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Explanation:

H.J.Res. 67 disapproves and nullifies the rule issued by the Department of Labor on August 30, 2016, establishing a “safe harbor” from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act for government-run IRAs managed by states and certain political subdivisions for private sector workers.

Under the final rule, cities and large political subdivisions will not have to comply with the fiduciary oversight and other protections of ERISA that ensure that workers’ savings are available to provide a secure retirement. In addition, the rule will result in overlapping and inconsistent requirements for employers operating in multiple jurisdictions, even within a state, disregarding ERISA’s statutory preemption of state and local laws affecting employee benefit plans.

Obama Rule Text

Trump Override Explanation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army sent a letter to governors today soliciting input from states on a new definition of protected waters that is in-line with a Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in the 2006 Rapanos v. United States case. Scalia’s definition explains that federal oversight should extend to “relatively permanent” waters and wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to large rivers and streams.

“EPA is restoring states’ important role in the regulation of water,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Like President Trump, I believe that we need to work with our state governments to understand what they think is the best way to protect their waters, and what actions they are already taking to do so. We want to return to a regulatory partnership, rather than regulate by executive fiat.”

“The Army, together with the Corps of Engineers, is committed to working closely with and supporting the EPA on these rulemakings. As we go through the rulemaking process, we will continue to make the implementation of the Clean Water Act Section 404 regulatory program as transparent as possible for the regulated public, ” said Douglas Lamont, senior official performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

The Clean Water Act asserts federal control over “navigable waters” without providing clarity or details about the law’s scope. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 28, 2017 to direct federal agencies to roll back and replace the Obama Administration’s Clean Water Rule – also known as the “Waters of the U.S.” or WOTUS – to ensure that the nation’s navigable waters are kept free from pollution, while at the same time promoting economic growth, minimizing regulatory uncertainty, and showing due regard for the roles of Congress and the States under the Constitution.

To meet the objectives of the executive order, federal agencies are following a two-step process that will provide as much certainty as possible, as quickly as possible, to the regulated community and the public during the development of the replacement rule.

The first step is to revise the Code of Federal Regulations to re-codify the definition of “Waters of the United States” which currently governs administration of the Clean Water Act, in light of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit staying a definition of “Waters of the United States” promulgated by the agencies in 2015. This action will simply make the text of the Code of Federal Regulations reflect the definition currently in effect under the Sixth Circuit stay. This action, when final, will not change current practice with respect to the how the definition applies, which is consistent with Supreme Court decisions, agency guidance documents, and longstanding practice.

The second step will be a public notice-and-comment rulemaking involving a substantive reevaluation and revision of the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” in accordance with the executive order. The letter sent to governors today is seeking input on the second step of the process.

Reference:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-us-army-solicit-state-input-redefining-waters-us-0

WASHINGTON — As a vital step of EPA’s implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” EPA’s Regulatory Reform Task Force, led by the Office of Policy, submitted a Federal Register notice today to solicit public comments on EPA regulations.

“We are supporting the restoration of America’s economy through extensive reviews of the misaligned regulatory actions from the past administration. The previous administration abused the regulatory process to advance an ideological agenda that expanded the reach of the federal government, often dismissing the technological and economic concerns raised by the regulated community and duplicating long-standing regulations by states and localities. Moving forward, EPA will be listening to those directly impacted by regulations, and learning ways we can work together with our state and local partners, to ensure that we can provide clean air, land, and water to Americans,” said Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The notice will include a docket that all EPA program offices will use to collect comments specific to their issues. EPA’s Regulatory Reform Task Force is simultaneously working with program offices to gather their recommendations for specific rules that should be considered for repeal, replacement or modification. EPA regional offices, program offices, and other officials will report back by May 15, 2017.

EPA also launched a new webpage with information related to the agency’s regulatory reform efforts, which will include a list of upcoming meetings being held by the offices at: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/regulatory-reform. The docket number for public input is EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190

Date Written by EPA Media Relations: 04/11/2017
Contact Information: U.S. EPA Media Relations ([email protected])

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order at the White House today, directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review and then rescind or revise the 2015 Clean Water Rule: Definition of “Waters of the United States”.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt joined the President for this announcement and afterward issued the following statement: “EPA intends to immediately implement the Executive Order and submit a Notice to the Office of the Federal Register announcing our intent to review the 2015 Rule, and then to propose a new rule that will rescind or revise that rule. The President’s action today preserves a federal role in protecting water, but it also restores the states’ important role in the regulation of water.”

View the Executive Order and the Federal Register Notice: https://www.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule

Date written by EPA Media Relations: 02/28/2017
Contact Information: U.S. EPA Media Relations ([email protected])