The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has advanced 11 bills to the full House of Representatives. The legislation addresses reforms under the Clean Air Act, energy production, and improvements in public safety communications.
Chairman Brett Guthrie commented on the committee’s actions, stating: “Today, our Committee advanced commonsense legislation to reform permitting under the Clean Air Act, unleash American energy, and improve public safety communications. Thank you to our members who have worked to support these bills that will strengthen American manufacturing, support reliable and affordable power, and enhance community safety, we look forward to this legislation being considered by the full House of Representatives.”
Among the bills reported out of committee are:
- H.R. 6409 (FENCES) focused on foreign emissions and economic stability.
- H.R. 4218 (CLEAR Act), H.R. 6387 (FIRE Act), H.R. 4214 (Clean Air and Building Infrastructure Improvement Act), H.R. 161 (New Source Review Permitting Improvement Act), H.R. 6373 (Air Permitting Improvements to Protect National Security Act), and H.R. 6398 (RED Tape Act) all relate to various aspects of air quality regulation and permitting.
- Several measures—H.R. 2072, H.R. 5200, H.R. 5201, and H.R. 2076—address hydropower construction timelines and emergency reporting.
Votes for these bills were largely divided along party lines except for four measures related to hydropower licensing extensions or emergency reporting requirements, which passed unanimously or with overwhelming bipartisan support.
During the markup session, Congressman Gabe Evans highlighted his bill: “My commonsense bipartisan bill will help address a critical issue in western states that makes life less affordable for working families. My Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events Act, or FIRE Act, ensures that states like Colorado are not punished for smoke and emissions they can't control, while still maintaining strong environmental protections. We've heard the data, 70 percent of the emissions in Colorado originate from outside of the state's jurisdiction. This includes things like Canadian wildfires, Chinese pollution, and naturally occurring atmospheric events. But the resulting regulations that states like Colorado put onto industry and consumers are a leading cause of the affordability crisis facing families in my district.”
Congressman Bob Latta spoke about extending hydropower project timelines: “H.R. 2072 will require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the time period during which licensees are required to commence construction of certain hydropower projects. Hydropower is critical to part of our nation's energy mix, supplying power to approximately 30 million homes and businesses and accounting for 40 percent of our black start capacity, which means they can restart themselves without external power. The legislation requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the time period in which licensees are required to commence construction of relevant hydropower projects.”
Congressman Gary Palmer described Lulu's Law: “Lulu's Law is named after Lulu Griffin who—at 15 years old—lost part of her left arm, her hand, and her right leg during a shark attack last year. Lulu's Law would enable authorities to quickly deploy wireless emergency alerts to the public if someone is attacked by a shark, or conditions for a shark attack are present nearby. About 90 minutes before Lulu was attacked, another woman about a mile down the beach had suffered critical injuries from the same shark. Passage of this bill will allow an alert system that will go out to cell phones to let people know to get their children out of the water, to get out of the water themselves in the event of a shark attack nearby.”
