Congressman Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has expressed support for four new bills introduced in the House of Representatives aimed at reforming aspects of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The legislation is intended to address regulatory processes that lawmakers say have slowed manufacturing growth and failed to deliver on environmental goals.
The four bills are: the Air Permitting Improvements to Protect National Security Act, led by Chairman Gary Palmer; the Reducing and Eliminating Duplicative Environmental Regulations (RED Tape) Act, led by Congressman John Joyce, M.D.; the Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability (FENCES) Act, led by Congressman August Pfluger; and the Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act, led by Congressman Gabe Evans. Each bill targets specific provisions within existing CAA regulations that sponsors argue create unnecessary delays or impose unfair penalties on American industries.
Chairman Guthrie said, “Meaningful permitting reform cannot be accomplished without modernizing the Clean Air Act. Our Committee is working to end the suffocating regulatory state that the Biden-Harris Administration sought to entrench, ultimately halting manufacturing and driving investments overseas. These bills will cut through the red tape that has hurt American businesses and workers, while still ensuring strong air quality protections. If we want to win the AI race against China, deepen our global leadership in advanced manufacturing, and continue onshoring more investment, we will need to be able to build the needed infrastructure, facilities, and power generation—these bills will help us to achieve these goals. Thank you to Chairman Palmer, Chairman Joyce, Congressman Pfluger, and Congressman Evans for leading the introduction of these important bills.”
Explaining his bill’s purpose, Chairman Palmer stated: “Manufacturing and critical mineral facilities that are essential to our economic stability and national security are currently being delayed due to permitting gridlock caused by burdensome regulations. This amendment to the Clean Air Act is long overdue. It’s time we remove unnecessary roadblocks so that we can adequately support domestic production while also ensuring we are protecting future generations’ environment and quality of life.”
Congressman Joyce emphasized job creation in his remarks: “Simply stated, more efficient project approvals will create new Pennsylvania jobs. I’m proud to introduce the RED Tape Act and offer a commonsense solution to eliminate redundant federal approvals that delay economic growth and job creation.”
Addressing foreign pollution issues under current law, Congressman Pfluger said: “American companies are being unfairly penalized for pollution originating outside the United States. We’ve seen how even the mention of a nonattainment designation, like when the Biden EPA threatened to redesignate the Permian Basin, can create significant uncertainty for businesses and communities. These designations delay permits and hurt economic growth, while failing to address the very problem they are trying to solve. My bill restores commonsense by preventing the EPA from punishing states for pollution they didn’t cause – including foreign emissions, cross-state transport, wildfire smoke, and mobile-source emissions outside their control. I’m proud to lead this bill as another major step in modernizing and strengthening America’s broken permitting system.”
Congressman Evans highlighted concerns about costs associated with current ozone standards: “A leading reason for the affordability crisis facing Coloradans is red tape around air quality permitting. When the economy is strangled under the weight of costly, poorly designed ozone attainment standards, jobs are lost, prices spike, and financial stress increases negative health outcomes. Clean air is important to everyone, but Colorado jobs should not be penalized for emissions outside of their control — whether it's Canadian wildfires or Chinese pollution. My bill, the FIRE Act, is a common-sense solution that will drive down costs for working families in Colorado by clarifying that Clean Air Act benchmarks should not be used to punish jobs and hamstring the economy for things like prescribed burns or out-of-state wildfire smoke.”
The Air Permitting Improvements to Protect National Security Act would allow exemptions from certain offset requirements for advanced manufacturing or critical minerals facilities deemed vital by presidential determination or if such offsets are unavailable despite efforts at emission reductions. These facilities would still need to meet other CAA permit conditions.
The RED Tape Act seeks to remove duplicate reviews conducted by EPA on projects already reviewed in cooperation with other agencies under NEPA guidelines—a process lawmakers say adds unnecessary cost and bureaucracy.
The FENCES Act proposes changes allowing states greater flexibility in accounting for both natural- and human-caused foreign emissions when evaluating compliance with federal air standards or reviewing permits.
Lastly, The FIRE Act aims at clarifying how exceptional events such as wildfires or prescribed burns are treated during federal air quality assessments so states aren’t penalized for factors beyond their control.
