Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6409, the Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability (FENCES) Act on a vote of 220-208. Following passage, Congressional Western Caucus Chair Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and Representative August Pfluger (TX-11), the sponsor of the legislation, released the following statements:

“American communities and manufacturers should not be penalized for pollution they didn't create. This bill fixes a broken system by excluding foreign emissions we can't control. It's common sense and real accountability,” said Chair Celeste Maloy.

“The passage of my FENCES Act is a win for American businesses and workers who have been unfairly penalized for pollution beyond their control. By ensuring that foreign emissions and natural events, such as wildfires, are not counted against air monitoring data, this bill brings long-overdue fairness and certainty to the permitting process. This means fewer delays, lower costs for consumers, and more confidence for businesses looking to invest and create jobs. It is a practical, commonsense fix that protects our economy and the integrity of our air quality standards,” said Representative August Pfluger.
 

Legislative Digest

H.R. 6409, the Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability (FENCES) Act
Sponsor: Representative August Pfluger (TX-11)
Co-sponsors: Crenshaw (TX-02), Crank (CO-05)
Summary: The Clean Air Act (CAA) currently contains a provision, Section 179B, allowing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) with a nonattainment area that a State can demonstrate is caused by emissions emanating from outside of the United States. This legislation would expand the Clean Air Act to allow a State to make such a demonstration at any point after the EPA has designated a nonattainment area, rather than requiring the development of a State Implementation Plan.