It’s April Fool’s Day, and the Joke’s On Us

When it comes to the environment, water pollution is the issue Americans worry about the most. Unfortunately, members of Congress are making light of those fears just in time for April Fool’s Day.

The amendments and riders attached to the House-passed Continuing Resolution are dismantling Clean Water Act (CWA) protections. The CWA protects clean drinking water for millions of Americans, limits pollution and helps to restore troubled waters.

Another troublesome bill stripping away Clean Water Act safeguards is H.R. 872, which recently passed in the House of Representatives. The legislation, otherwise known as the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011, could be a big burden on public health and wildlife habitat. This legislation rolls back CWA by giving free reign to industries that pollute our waters with pesticides.

The battle over polluter bailouts in H.R. 1 isn’t over, yet. The Senate, House of Representatives and White House must reach a budget compromise, and legislators have an opportunity to restore the Clean Water Act and other bedrock environmental safeguards. Tell your papers and your members of Congress not to let big polluters have free reign with our natural resources. Clean water isn’t a joke, and lawmakers shouldn’t treat it that way.