WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 3, 2017) —Yesterday, Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) released the following statement after the House passed the Regulatory Integrity Act (H.R. 1004), which will help correct problems in the federal rulemaking process and bring much-needed transparency into regulatory actions.

“I’m pleased to see the Regulatory Integrity Act passed to bring clarity, transparency, and accountability to the federal rulemaking process,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers. “It is against federal law for government agencies to use taxpayers’ money to lobby for rules or legislation, but that didn’t stop the EPA in 2016 from doing just that. In Washington state, the EPA may have abused its federal authority with its “What’s Upstream” campaign, which attempted to smear our farmers and ranchers. The Regulatory Integrity Act will ensure that the spirit of these laws is upheld and that situations like What’s Upstream never happen again.”

NOTE: Since What’s Upstream, Rep. McMorris Rodgers has led inquiries into the use of federal funds for the campaign. In April 2016, she sent an inquiry to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to find out how much the What’s Upstream campaign cost. McMorris Rodgers requested financial records and was met with little cooperation from the EPA’s Region 10. She also joined a letter led by Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) asking for the EPA to disclose the costs associated with the campaign.