WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the House Committee on the Judiciary reported H.R. 2834, a bill to ostensibly codify existing environmental statutes, including the Clean Air Act, as a single title in the U.S. Code. While the bill is supposed to be purely technical in nature, H.R. 2834 goes beyond that and makes serious changes to the Clean Air Act, which falls squarely within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) sent a letter to call attention to the fact that Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are attempting to use a typically non-partisan, housekeeping bill to make serious changes to the Clean Air Act under the guise of “streamlining environmental statutes."
In the letter sent to Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Pallone wrote, “Judiciary is, in effect, writing national policy on matters within our jurisdiction and running roughshod over the prerogatives of our Committee and the legislative process. Such policy decisions should be made through regular order, including full consideration by our Committee, not disguised as non-controversial, technical changes to established law in a manner that could mislead Members of both parties."
