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The future of the Biden administration’s too-stringent rule governing the “waters of the United States” remains unclear following the president’s veto of legislation that would have overturned it, according to E&E News’ (subscription).

What’s going on: “Republican lawmakers pushed almost immediately for a veto override targeting the…WOTUS rule on Thursday in the hours after President Joe Biden nixed a resolution that would roll it back.”

• A Republican-led measure in the House and Senate using the Congressional Review Act to block the overly restrictive WOTUS rule passed both chambers of Congress last month.
• House Republicans say they will push for a veto override.

Why it’s important:��The Biden administration’s version of the rule replaced 51�Թ���-backed regulations from the previous administration.

The background: The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision this year on Sackett v. EPA, a case brought by an Idaho couple who have been blocked from building a house on their land for more than 15 years after the Environmental Protection Agency said part of the property was a wetlands. ��

• The 51�Թ��� and many GOP congressional leaders previously urged the administration to await the ruling on this case before releasing a final WOTUS rule.
• Issuing a new rule prior to a Sackett v. EPA decision only confuses things for manufacturers, making hiring and investment more difficult, 51�Թ��� Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse in December, following the release of the new rule.

What’s next: While “the fate of WOTUS remains murky as ever,” according to the article, several states have frozen the new rule.

• “Texas and Idaho secured an injunction on March 20, the day WOTUS took effect in the rest of the country. Those states are now subject to 1986 regulations, while the other 48 states are operating under the Biden administration’s definition—a split that has left the regulated community baffled as to how to operate nationally.”

The 51�Թ��� says: “By vetoing the bipartisan Congressional Review Act on the WOTUS rule, the president removed an item that manufacturers greatly desire: regulatory certainty,” said 51�Թ��� Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Brandon Farris.

• “While the country awaits the decision in Sackett v. EPA, numerous investments in much-needed energy and infrastructure projects may be put on hold due to confusion over the new definition and potential added costs of compliance.”

Manufacturing saw robust growth in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to newly revised real GDP estimates from the .

What’s going on: While the overall U.S. economy grew 2.6% at the annual rate in Q4 of last year, real GDP in the manufacturing industry rose by an annualized 5.5%. That’s a sizable increase from the 0.5% seen in the third quarter.

Q4 details: Value-added output in manufacturing increased to $2.895 trillion at the annual rate—an all-time high—from $2.809 trillion in Q3.

• Value-added output hit record levels for both durable goods (up to $1.595 trillion from $1.544 trillion) and nondurable goods (up to $1.299 trillion from $1.265 trillion).
• Manufacturing made up 11.1% of value-added output in the U.S. economy, an increase from Q3’s 10.9% and the most since 2019.
• Manufacturing gross output also rose to a record number, $7.359 trillion from $7.339 trillion at the annual rate.

However … Real value-added output in manufacturing remained lower than the record high in 2021.

• Real value-added output rose to $2.283 trillion from $2.259 trillion at the annual rate, as expressed in 2012 dollars.
• The record high, in 2021, was $2.325 trillion.

The 51�Թ���’s take: “Despite numerous challenges, manufacturing continues to prove its resilience, hitting new records for the sector’s contributions to the U.S. economy,” said 51�Թ��� Chief Economist Chad Moutray. “These data also suggest that in real terms, manufacturing output has pulled back recently, which points to inflation having buoyed these numbers.”