WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four members of Alabama’s Congressional delegation have signed on to a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy regarding the agency’s misuse of Federal funds to pay for a campaign attacking farmers and ranchers.
Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL5), Mike Rogers (R-AL3), Gary Palmer (R-AL6), and Bradley Byrne (R-AL1) signed onto the letter condemning the EPA’s funding of the the website whatsupstream.com.
By the EPA’s own admission, the agency engaged in funding of an advocacy site that violates federal propaganda and lobbying laws. The Consolidating and Furthering Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 clarifies that “No part of any appropriation contained within this act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by congress.”
The EPA-funded whatsupstream site featured a prominent “Take Action!” button that created an auto generated message for Washington State legislators to support “stronger laws protecting the health of our water resources.” The site’s call to action also stated that the state government must hold the agricultural industry to the same standards of responsibility as all other industries.
The signatories argue that such action is a clear violation of the law. The letter states that the EPA is engaging in “funding advocacy efforts against the entities it is seeking to regulate.”
On top of the EPA’s own admissions, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued an opinion stating that the EPA violated the same laws with its promotion on the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule back in December of 2015.
The WOTUS rule extends the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers’ regulatory reach to an indefinite number of small bodies of water, including roadside ditches, temporary streams or “any waters located within the 100-year floodplain of a traditional navigable water.”
The GAO found that the EPA’s social media campaign promoting the WOTUS rule violated propaganda and lobbying laws by improperly spending appropriated funds during Fiscal Year 2014 and 2015. Alabama’s four signers believe that the WOTUS violation combined with the disregard in the Washington State case sets a dangerous trend.
“In my opinion, the EPA declared war on farmers and hard working families. The agency seems to hurt the agriculture industry and kill jobs instead of helping protect anything,” Senior member of the House Agriculture Committee Rep. Rogers said in a statement. “I am disappointed in the EPA and hope they will cooperate with an investigation into the matter.”
Under the Obama Administration, the EPA has continually expanded its reach with regulations such as the clean power plan, the proposed vehicle conversion ban rule, and other regulations furthering the war on coal. The whatsupstream website can be seen in detail here.
