Just 3 three votes shy. Tuesday afternoon, the Senate fell three votes short to pass a bill forcing the Obama Administration to redo the Waters of the U.S. Rule.
The Senate needed 60 votes to advance the bill to a full debate but only got 57. Claire McCaskill of Missouri was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans besides three who were already co-sponsors.
But after the cloture motion failed, the Senate voted 55-43 to take up Senator Joni?s Ernst?s disapproval resolution. Senator Chuck Grassley explained how the disapproval resolution works.
?The process works this way. You get at least 30 senators signing on to a resolution of disapproval then it comes before the United States Senate. Has a limit of a limit ten hours of debate that?s why the 60 vote rule doesn?t apply because there is already a limit on debate under the law that establishes a process,? Grassley said.
Grassley added unlike needing 60 votes it only needed a simple majority.
?Then with a majority vote if there is a 100 senators here that is 51. If there is 95 senators you would need 46 votes, a majority vote would pass it. Then it would have to do the same thing in the House and then it would go to the president for his approval. If he disapproved it, then we would have to have a 2/3 majority to override the veto,? Grassley said.
Grassley said the WOTUS rule would not be good for Iowa farmers.
?The rule could result in significant red tape for Iowa farmers as they make routine decisions about how to best use their land. Ironically the rule could hamper projects that farmers want to put forth that would actually improve water quality,? Grassley said.
The disapproval resolution would kill the WOTUS rule if it?s approved.
