1/21/2026

 

Samuel Clifford

 

H.R. 6409 (The Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability (FENCES) Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. August Pfluger (R‑TX‑11) 

 

Purpose: To amend the Clean Air Act to clarify how emissions originating outside the United States are treated when determining whether an area meets national air‑quality standards.

 

Effect: This bill specifies that foreign emissions—whether human‑caused or natural—must be considered in nonattainment determinations. It also provides regulatory clarity for states affected by cross‑border pollution.

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6409

 

H.R. 4218 (The Clean Air and Economic Advancement Reform (CLEAR) Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R‑GA‑1) 

 

Purpose: To amend the Clean Air Act to facilitate state implementation of national ambient air‑quality standards (NAAQS).

 

Effect: This bill extends NAAQS review intervals to 10 years, reducing regulatory churn. It adjusts the Clean Air Act timelines and processes to give states more flexibility in meeting standards.

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4218/text

 

H.R. 6387 (The Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. Gabe Evans (R‑CO‑8) 

 

Purpose: To revise Clean Air Act regulations governing how air‑quality data influenced by exceptional events—especially wildfires and wildfire‑mitigation actions—is reviewed. 

 

Effect: This bill allows states to petition EPA to exclude air‑quality data affected by wildfire‑mitigation actions (e.g., prescribed burns). It establishes clearer criteria and transparency requirements for EPA handling of exceptional‑event petitions.

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6387

 

H.R. 4214 (The Clean Air and Building Infrastructure Improvement Act)

 

Sponsor: Rick W. Allen (R‑GA‑12) 

 

Purpose: To require EPA to publish implementation regulations and guidance concurrently with any new or revised NAAQS.

 

Effect: This bill ensures states receive timely regulatory guidance when new standards are issued. It also improves predictability for pre‑construction permitting under updated standards.

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4214

 

H.R. 161 (The New Source Review Permitting Improvement Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. H. Morgan Griffith (R‑VA‑9) 

 

Purpose: To clarify when physical or operational changes at a facility constitute a modification under the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) program.

 

Effect: This bill excludes efficiency, reliability, and safety upgrades from being treated as NSR‑triggering modifications. It also limits NSR applicability to changes that significantly increase annual emissions. 

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/161

 

H.R. 6373 (The Air Permitting Improvements to Protect National Security Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. Gary J. Palmer (R‑AL‑6) 

 

Purpose: To allow the President to waive emission‑offset requirements for certain advanced manufacturing or critical‑mineral facilities when necessary for national security.

 

Effect: This bill creates a national‑security waiver for air‑pollution offset requirements. It could exempt semiconductor, mining, smelting, and similar facilities from offset obligations under specific conditions. 

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6373

 

H.R. 6398 (The Reducing and Eliminating Duplicative Environmental Regulations Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. John Joyce (R‑PA‑13) 

 

Purpose: To streamline EPA’s review of proposed federal actions by modifying Clean Air Act Section 309.

 

Effect: This bill removes certain categories of federal actions from mandatory EPA review. It also simplifies and reduces duplicative regulatory oversight.

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/index.php/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6398/text

 

H.R. 2072 (To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the time period during which licensees are required to commence construction of certain hydropower projects.)

 

Sponsor: Rep. Dan Newhouse (R‑WA‑4) 

 

Purpose: To extend the time period during which hydropower licensees must commence construction on projects licensed before March 13, 2020.

 

Effect: This bill allows licensees to request up to six additional years beyond the existing eight‑year commencement window. It also prevents project licenses from expiring due to administrative or logistical delays.

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2072

 

H.R. 5200 (The Emergency Reporting Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. Doris Matsui (D‑CA‑7) 

 

Purpose: To direct the FCC to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and improve network‑outage reporting.

 

Effect: This bill requires FCC reporting following disaster‑related system activations. It enhances transparency and reliability of communications‑network outage data. 

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5200

 

H.R. 5201 (Kari's Law Reporting Act)

 

Sponsor: Rep. Doris Matsui (D‑CA‑7) 

 

Purpose: To require the FCC to publish a report on implementation of the Kari’s Law Act of 2017, which mandates direct 9‑1‑1 dialing from multi‑line phone systems.

 

Effect: This bill requires a public FCC report within 180 days of enactment. It evaluates compliance by manufacturers and vendors of multi‑line telephone systems. 

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5201/text

 

H.R. 2076 (Lulu's Law)

 

Sponsor: Rep. Gary J. Palmer (R‑AL‑6) 

 

Purpose: To require the FCC to authorize wireless emergency alerts for shark‑attack warnings.

 

Effect: This bill adds shark attacks as an approved category for Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). It requires FCC action within 180 days to implement the change. 

 

Bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2076/text/ih